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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24820450">Hold me tight</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/xavier87/pseuds/xavier87'>xavier87</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fear the Walking Dead (TV), The 100 (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Clexa, F/F, Fluff and Smut, Loss of Virginity, Minor Violence, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slow Burn, Some angst, Survival, lexark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 03:09:02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>37,056</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24820450</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/xavier87/pseuds/xavier87</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>On the Abigail, Alicia strikes a conversation with a stranger on the radio.<br/>When the woman shows up uninvited and steals some of their food, neither of them knows that it is only the beginning of their story. But the dead are not quite gone and the living are hungrier than ever. </p><p>Will the two women get the happy ending they deserve?</p><p>This story loosely follows the plot of season 2 before taking a life of its own.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alicia Clark/Elyza Lex, Anya/Raven Reyes, Clarke Griffin/Lexa, Octavia Blake/Lincoln</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>116</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>339</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Alicia never thought that she would get tired of the ocean view; after all, she used to enjoy going to the beach with her friends on weekends. But after two days on the Abigail, she was already longing for land. Between the lack of personal space, the stress of the past few days finally catching up to her, Chris lashing out during Liza’s funeral, and the storm that had hit the night before and had kept her from sleeping more than an hour or two, she was positively exhausted. Tired of the wind that wouldn't stop sending her hair into her mouth, she had retreated with the radio into the room she shared with her brother. When Travis had asked her the day before to man the radio and listen for possible instructions from the military, she had thought that he was only trying to keep her mind off the strangers on the boat that they had not stopped to help. But now, despite the depressing messages she kept hearing, she was glad for the distraction.</p><p>Lying on the left side bed, she started falling asleep, lulled by an old song on the radio, when she heard a raspy, female voice over the music. The woman was singing, pretty much in tune as far as Alicia could tell, despite sounding pretty sad. Once the song was over, the brunette expected her to continue singing along to the next one, but she was surprised to hear her talk instead.</p><p>“Man, that was super nostalgic, sorry about that. I used to love this song, but it’s not quite the same when you are alone on a boat. Oh well, I’m still alive, I guess there is that. Anybody out there? Hello? If you hear this, give me a shout. It’d be nice to talk to someone else other than the fish before I lose my sanity. They don’t make for great conversationalists, to be honest.”</p><p>Alicia could not help the corners of her mouth from moving upward. The woman sounded funny, a bit crazy too, but after all who was she to judge? The world seemed to have descended into madness, a stranger singing on the radio was hardly the weirdest thing she had seen recently. Before she realized what she is doing, her index had pressed the microphone switch. She held her breath and lifted her finger slowly, hoping that the stranger had not heard her, when the voice came back.</p><p>“Hello? Is someone listening? Hello? Please, don’t let me hanging, I haven’t talked to anyone in days, I promise I’ll stop singing if you answer me. Please? Pretty please?”</p><p>“Hi,” replied Alicia after taking a big inhalation.  </p><p>“Hi there. For a second, I thought I had lost my mind and started imagining things. How are you doing?”</p><p>“I—I’m okay. And you? You sounded good earlier, I didn’t want to interrupt your performance.”</p><p>“Haha, thanks. You should see what I can do after a couple of beers.” Alicia could not stop herself from smiling again, for the second time in less than five minutes. Maybe it was the relative carefreeness in the woman’s voice or the fact that her own family had been pretty much ignoring her for the previous 24 hours, but the young girl did not want the conversation to end so soon.</p><p>“My name is Alicia, and you?”</p><p>“Elyza, Elyza Lex, at your service young Alicia.”</p><p>“Hey! What makes you think I’m young?” asked Alicia while rolling her eyes. “As far as you know I could be a 50-year-old crazy cat lady with a bad perm and fluffy slippers.”</p><p>The mysterious woman did not immediately respond, but her laugh resonated through the device that the brunette was carefully holding.  </p><p>“You’re right, Love, I can’t be sure. Although I can’t imagine a crazy cat lady surviving on the ocean or knowing how to operate a radio. Anyway, tell me about yourself? How long have you been out here?”</p><p>The conversation continued like that for what felt like ages, but it was probably closer to an hour. Alicia learned that Elyza was Australian, she had just moved to LA to be a resident in a teaching hospital when the dead had started coming back to life, that she had not heard from her mother and step-dad back in Sydney, and that she used to have a dog when she was a child. In return, the teenager told her about her brother’s regular escapades, her mother’s protectiveness, the life on the Abigail with her new makeshift family. She even surprised herself by mentioning Matt and that she wished she had said goodbye to him; back when she had not known that a bite was a death sentence. Elyza was surprisingly easy to talk to, she listened intensely when needed, joked just at the right time to lighten the atmosphere, and the most refreshing part, she seemed to take Alicia seriously. She asked for her opinion on the situation, wanted to know what the brunette would do differently if she could go back in time, and showed interest in her and her family’s plans. For the first time since they had found Nick at the hospital, Alicia felt like someone was talking to her like the adult she almost was, and not like the little girl with chubby cheeks and eyes too big for her face that she had once been. Eventually, she had to say goodbye and join her family for dinner, but not before promising Elyza that she would talk to her again the next day if she could.</p><p>That night, lying in her bed and listening to her brother’s snores, Alicia felt her eyes water when she remembered the conversation with the Australian woman. She saw all the faces of those she has already lost. Matt, her friends from school, her neighbors. When the image of her father appeared in front of her eyes, she could not stop a sob from leaving her lips. Thankfully, the exhaustion caught up with her after some time, and she fell into a dreamless slumber, hoping to hear the raspy voice again.</p><p>The next day, after a frugal breakfast, Alicia found herself once again left to her own devices. She had tried to strike a conversation with Ofelia, but the poor woman was still recovering from her injury, and her father did not seem inclined to leave her side for more than a few minutes at a time. Since Nick was in the wheelhouse making friends with Strand, she was free to go back to their cabin and turn on the radio. But where she had been looking forward to hearing music or the beautiful voice of the Australian woman, she was only greeted with silence.</p><p>“Elyza? Elyza, can you hear me? It’s Alicia.”</p><p>The young brunette listened to the statics anxiously for a couple of minutes, getting ready to turn off the radio and try again later, when a panting voice suddenly came from the device.</p><p>“Alicia? Are you still here? Sorry, I am in a bit of a situation right now.”</p><p>“What’s wrong?”</p><p>“My boat is taking on water, and it’s getting in faster than I can remove it. There must have been a small hole in the hull or something. Shit!”</p><p>Alicia could feel her heartbeat getting faster at the sound of panic in Elyza’s voice. She had not known the woman for more than a day, but the idea of losing someone else, someone who was willing to spend time with her, to listen to her, sent a sharp pain in her stomach.</p><p>“Elyza? Do you have any idea where you are? What can you see? Maybe we can pick you up. I can try to convince my mom; I’ll tell her that we need a doctor for Ofelia or something. Where are you?”</p><p>“That’s sweet of you, Love”, replied the voice, “but I can’t really see much, apart from some smock coming from the Santa Monica Mountains. Is that your north or your south?”</p><p>“Our north.”</p><p>“Okay, I’m just south of that. Maybe two miles offshore.”</p><p>“Don’t give up yet, I’ll talk to my mom and Travis.”</p><p>Alicia ran out of her cabin and onto the communal area to find the adults. As she had anticipated, her mother and even Travis seemed to consider rerouting the yacht to rescue the woman. Surprisingly, even Daniel did not reject the idea once he heard that the stranger is a doctor, probably thinking about his daughter who still had a hole in her shoulder. But once Strand learned that she had been talking to someone on the radio and had given them their approximate location, things rapidly went south. He and Madison argued for a few minutes, but after he threatened to throw Alicia overboard and anyone else who tried to bring in more people onto his goddamn boat, there was not much room left for discussion. Devastated, Alicia returned to her cabin and announced in a voice full of sadness that they could not come to meet her. The answer was nothing like she had anticipated though. Instead of despair, or even anger, she could clearly hear the smirk in Elyza’s voice when she replied.</p><p>“That’s fine, Love, I got you. I’ll see you soon.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I hope you are enjoying the story so far :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Elyza was so freaking hungry, it wasn’t even funny. The meagre rations that had been on the boat she had stolen from the marina before LA started burning were gone, and with nothing useful to make a fishing rod, she was going to starve soon. At least the owner of the boat had been smart enough to store enough water to last a few weeks. Not that she'd never had to drink her own piss before, but she would rather not repeat the experience if she could avoid it.</p><p>After a few days on the water, she still hadn’t seen anyone else or heard anything on the radio other than people who seemed to be in an even direr situation than she was, and the Coast Guard broadcast saying that there were no rescue services available. Perfect. That is why she couldn’t believe her luck the day before when a girl, a few years younger than herself based on her voice, had started talking to her on the radio. Getting her to open up about herself and her family had been easy. The young woman, Alicia, was feeling pretty invisible and wanted someone to take her seriously. She had mentioned an addict of a brother, an apparently overbearing mother, and a step-dad and his son. What had caught Elyza’s attention, however, were the few details the girl had let escaped regarding the yacht they were on. It sounded big enough for a large family, and most importantly modern and well-stocked. The Australian knew that she couldn’t appear too eager to learn more about the Abigail (like her mother, the coincidence had left a sour taste in her mouth), but it sounded like her chance not to kick the bucket yet. And if she was feeling bad about using the younger girl, she just had to remind herself of what her therapist had once told her.</p><p>
  <em>Who we are and who we need to be to survive are very different things.</em>
</p><p>After another cold and restless night, she'd managed to trick Alicia into giving their approximate location. She hadn’t been surprised to hear that the others had refused to pick up a stranger, but at least she was steering towards something. A couple of hours later, she could finally see through her binoculars a boat that looked big enough to be the Abigail, about a mile away from her. She was surprised to see it idling, but that would make the boarding process much easier. She had wondered how she would make it onto the boat. Being alone and without any idea of the firepower that she could be facing, a stealthy approach was clearly her best shot. She had considered doing it at night or pretending to be injured, but after what Alicia had said, she did not doubt that the man called Strand would rather shoot her than let her climb onboard. In the end, since the vessel was seemingly immobile for now, she opted for the most discreet approach: underwater.</p><p>Grateful for all her past training, she slipped into a wetsuit, put on the flippers and recreational scuba set she had found below deck, strapped a few knives on her body, and jumped into the cold waters. Pushing the empty waterproof bag in front of her, it took Elyza about 20 minutes to reach the Abigail. Luckily for her, most of the occupants seemed to have gathered in the main room, except for a teenage boy, Chris probably, and a Latino woman in her mid-twenties who were pacing on the upper deck. Now that she was close, she could spot some smoke coming off the front of the boat and assumed that they had encountered some problems with the engine.</p><p>After slipping off her scuba set and tying it to the side of the boat, the blonde woman managed to pull herself onboard silently and climbed onto the wheelhouse. Unsheathing a knife with her left hand, she stealthily got behind the boy. Before he could turn and see her, she covered his mouth with her right hand and held the knife against his throat. The other woman gasped at the sight but had enough common sense not to cry out for help. Elyza slowly removed her hand from the boy’s mouth, holding the knife more tightly against his neck to make it clear that she wouldn’t hesitate to kill him if they made a move. She then grabbed the handgun from the holster on his belt, and pointing it at Chris’s back, she ushered them towards the lower deck. When the three of them entered the communal area, the confusion on the five other people’s faces was rapidly replaced with anger and fear. She could see a man with grey hair looking at her like he was trying to figure out how to disarm her; this one was dangerous. The others seemed to be less of an immediate threat, and Elyza was relieved to see that none of them seemed to be carrying any weapon. Still, she couldn’t afford to take the risk, and so she ordered them all to kneel on the floor with their hands on their heads. She was in the middle of asking if they had some sort of rope or zip ties when she saw from the corner of her eyes a girl enter the room and stop in her tracks, flabbergasted.</p><p>“Elyza?”</p><p><em>Alicia. Shit.</em> The brunette was cute. Very cute. And Elyza was very, very gay. She'd known that she would feel bad when coming face-to-face with the girl, but she hadn’t anticipated the pouty lips, the wavy light brown hair, and the light eyes — blue? green? — that were staring right at her in a mixture of surprise and something she couldn’t quite name.</p><p>“What are you doing? What do you want?”</p><p>“Sorry, Love,” replied the Australian, trying to keep her voice steady, “nothing personal, but a girl’s gotta eat. I’ll just take some food and be out of your hair. No one needs to get hurt.”</p><p>The younger girl frowned but didn’t argue. She came back with the zip ties Elyza had sent her to retrieve and she got to tie her companions like she was ordered to, starting with the older man. Elyza was starting to relax when suddenly the boy, Chris, decided to play the hero and jump at her. Thankful for all the years she had spent learning hand-to-hand combat, she made a side step and caught his arm easily. One quick punch at his sternum and another at his temple had him reeling.</p><p>“That was plain stupid. You have no weapon, I’m clearly more experienced than you, and you didn’t even have the element of surprise. You could have got everyone here killed,” she said angrily, unable to stop herself from teaching him a lesson. “If you aren't going to protect your family, you should at least not put them in any more danger.”</p><p>“They are not my family!” the teenager screamed while trying to escape her hold.</p><p>Rolling her eyes, Elyza quickly spun him around and knocked him out with a precise blow to the base of the skull. He would be in for a pretty nice headache when he would wake up. Now that the rest of the yacht’s occupants were tied up, she had Alicia put enough food to last a few days into her bag, as well as a fishing rod that would be very handy. Knowing that they wouldn’t be able to free themselves alone, she went to leave the room, with Alicia in tow carrying the bag.</p><p>“You should fix your boat quickly and get out of here. There are people far more dangerous than me on these waters. Oh, and keep an eye on that boy,” she told the adults before exiting, “he is a ticking time bomb.”</p><p>“He is my son,” answered the middle-aged man, Travis she told herself, “he just lost his mother, he is angry that’s all.”</p><p>Elyza huffed but didn’t reply. He was their problem after all, not hers. She just wanted to leave. Her wetsuit was getting uncomfortable, and she was still starving. After walking back to the edge of the deck and retrieving her scuba set, she looked at the brunette who was still standing nearby, looking more pissed than afraid.</p><p>“Look, I’m sorry Alicia, really. I’m not usually a bad person, but I needed food. I’m sure you understand.”</p><p>“Oh, I do. You used me, you lied to me and took advantage so you could get your hands on our supplies. Congratulations, Elyza! If that’s even your real name.”</p><p>“It is. And I’ll admit my intentions weren’t honourable, but I never lied to you.”</p><p>She could see the tears pool in the girl’s eyes — green, definitely green — though she wasn’t looking at the blonde anymore. On impulse, she caressed the left side of the brunette’s face gently with the side of her middle finger before holding her chin with her thumb and index. Looking into the younger girl's eyes, she inched her face closer. She heard Alicia’s breath still, but the beautiful girl didn’t scream or try to step back, not even when their lips finally touched in a tender kiss. It was brief and light, barely more than a peck, but Elyza felt her heart skip a beat. She moved backwards and released the brunette’s chin, half surprised not to have been slapped.</p><p>“What was that?” asked Alicia with a confused look. At least she didn’t seem angry anymore.</p><p>“Well, you know. It’s the end of the world, who knows when I’ll get another chance to kiss a pretty girl,” the older woman tried to joke. And then, struck by a sudden inspiration, she put one of her knives into the girl’s hand. “Here, you should have one and learn how to defend yourself. Don’t let your mum take it from you.”</p><p>The brunette seemed even more confused now, but she threw a look of gratitude at Elyza nonetheless. Now she just had to hope Alicia wouldn’t try to gut her before she could jump off the boat.</p><p>“That’s my cue to leave, Love. Be careful, and don’t trust the boy, he is dangerous.”</p><p>“Sorry again,” she added after a short pause, “but I’m glad I got to meet you. Maybe we’ll see each other again one day.”</p><p>And with that, she threw the gun into her bag and tied it carefully, put on her scuba set, and jumped into the water. The trip back to her boat would take longer, but she should be out of their reach by the time Alicia released her family. Trying not to think too much about the green eyes that she was leaving behind, she started kicking faster.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Alicia was not sure how long she had stayed frozen on the deck of the Abigail, looking into the waters. The blonde woman had disappeared with a splash, and now she couldn’t even spot the bubbles escaping the mouthpiece. She knew she had to go back inside and face the music; and the longer she waited, the angrier her companions would become. But she needed a minute to gather her thoughts and calm the pounding in her chest. She brought her right middle finger and index to her lips and softly caressed them. She could still feel the kiss linger on them, like she had been burned with the sweetest fire. She was afraid that her family would somehow notice the imprint of the Australian woman on her, a mark on her skin for all to see. She had followed the blonde outside without thinking, and despite the presence of the gun, she had not felt in danger. The kiss had, of course, been unexpected, but then everything about Elyza had been a surprise from the start. And now, Alicia was not sure how she felt. Betrayed by someone whom she had thought she could trust? Angry at the woman who had stolen some of their supplies and replaced the last memory of Matt’s lips she had with her own? Sad at the idea that she would probably never see her again?</p><p>She pocketed the black butterfly knife with a sigh, went back into the communal room, and freed the others. As predicted, she got an earful. Her mother and Travis berated her for trusting a stranger, Strand threatened to leave all of them behind once again, and Daniel threw her an annoyed look before retreating onto the upper deck. Luckily for her, she was spared Chris’s scowl as he was still unconscious, and Nick and Ofelia did not blame her for the incident. She wanted to point out to her mother that she too had thought bringing the doctor onto the Abigail would benefit the group, but she kept her mouth shut.</p><p>Travis went back to fixing the engine that had overheated a few hours before, while the others were mostly staying away from Alicia. Since she could not use the radio anymore to distract herself, she rummaged through the small library on the yacht and slouched on one of the couches with a novel. The book was pretty boring and she had already read it in school, but it was better than letting the thoughts of the Australian blonde linger in her head.</p><p>It took Travis the rest of the day and part of the night to remove the walker’s arm that had gotten caught into the cooling system and to fix the engine. The next morning, they were finally able to resume their journey south. The atmosphere on the boat was still a bit tense, but the adults did not seem too angry at Alicia anymore.</p><p>In the late afternoon, Ofelia suddenly spotted a half-sunk boat about half a mile away from them. After a short discussion, Madison, Travis, Daniel, and Strand agreed that there could be some extra supplies on board, and since no one seemed to be left on the wreckage, it was safe enough to bring the Abigail closer. Once they got near, the impact of bullets on the hull became apparent, clearly left by a large caliber. But before Madison could tell Strand to turn around, Nick had already jumped into the water.</p><p>Following a metallic sound, Nick swam to the part of the upper deck that was not submerged yet and found an open hatch. Entering the wreck slowly, he started looking for food cans, water, anything that could be useful. After a few minutes of fruitless search, he was about to return to the Abigail when he heard the sound again. Pulling a knife into his dominant hand, he swam slowly towards a part of the boat that was deeper underwater, with barely enough space to breathe. He had expected a walker, someone who had drowned or been shot, but to his surprise, he found the blonde woman who had robbed them the day before, half-conscious and hanging onto a floating bag. She was still alive and did not seem to have been injured, but she was clearly freezing and exhausted. Without a second thought, Nick grabbed her under one shoulder and started pulling her toward the exit.</p><p>The woman shook her head and whispered: “W—wait. Bag. Your f—food.”</p><p>“It’s okay. Just hold onto it like a buoy, and I’ll pull you. Hang in there okay?”</p><p>The blonde did not have the strength to respond and let herself be pulled outside the wreck and to the Abigail. Once they reached the boat, Ofelia and Chris grabbed the waterproof bag, while Travis and Alicia helped Nick and a shivering Elyza onto the deck. Madison barely had time to ask the Australian what had happened to her when they heard the sound of a gun cocking. Turning around, she could see Strand pointing a pistol at the blonde.</p><p>“What did you do, Nick? Haven’t I made myself clear about bringing strangers on board? And her, of all people? Are you insane? Push her back into the water, now!”</p><p>Nick opened his mouth to respond, but before a sound could come out, Alicia had put herself between the blonde and the gun.</p><p>“Enough! Nick did the right thing. We shouldn’t just abandon people to a cruel death. Besides, she is clearly hypothermic and not much of a threat.”</p><p>“Alicia,” intervened Madison cautiously, “she did threaten us with a gun yesterday and stole our supplies. She used you. You can’t trust her.”</p><p>“I know Mom. Believe me, I haven’t forgotten. But she also didn’t hurt us. She could have killed us and stolen all of our supplies, or even our yacht. Instead, she only took what she needed and left. We don’t know who did this,” she replied, pointing at the damaged boat, “and what other dangers we could face around here, we need answers.”</p><p>To the young woman’s surprise, Daniel lowered his weapon and came to her side.</p><p>“I agree with Alicia. I have seen cold-blooded killers before, I don’t think she is one. And if what she said is true and she has some medical training, we could use her skills. My daughter is still recovering from her wound.”</p><p>It took another 10 minutes or so of argumentation, but eventually, the adults agreed to keep the blonde woman on the Abigail for the time being. Strand made it clear though that she was Alicia’s responsibility and that he would not hesitate to kill her if she so much as looked at him the wrong way. Elyza had lost consciousness at some point during the discussion, and they had to carry her to the siblings' room. Alicia could feel her cheeks heat up when she realized that they had to get the woman out of her wet clothes, but thankfully her mother stepped in and took care of it with Ofelia’s help. Once the blonde was sporting dry clothes and wrapped into a thick blanket, the brunette sat on the other bed, facing the sleeping Australian that had been occupying her thoughts for the previous 24 hours.</p><p>“Are you sure you want to do this, Licia? I can keep an eye on her, you don’t have to stay here.”</p><p>“It’s okay, Mom. She’s probably going to sleep for a while anyway, I can just continue my book. I’ll let you know once she wakes up.”</p><p>Madison left the room, and Alicia found herself alone with the woman currently asleep on her bed. Now that she could really take the time to observe the blonde, she realized that she appeared younger than the day before. She seemed to be peacefully asleep, despite the slight shivers that shook her body from time to time. With the stress of the robbery, the younger woman hadn’t noticed how truly beautiful the Australian was. Her hair, still wet, was spread out on the pillow. She had a pale complexion, a round face, and a beauty mark above the lips. Alicia reddened when she remembered how those lips had felt against her own. Flustered, she decided to stop staring, and resumed her reading.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>TW: some violence and an attempted rape in this chapter. Let me know if you think I need to update the archive warnings, thanks!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Elyza felt as if it was taking her forever to wake up. The light was coming from a window on her right, but she couldn’t recognise the room, or the bed she was in. Turning slowly to her left side, she saw a very pretty girl looking at her with concern in her eyes. It took the blonde a minute to remember the events of the previous few days, and the surprise she felt when she realised she was still alive must have been apparent because the brunette moved closer to her and gently put her hand on Elyza’s arm over the blanket.</p><p>“Hey, how are you feeling? I was worried, you slept for 18 hours straight.”</p><p>Elyza had to clear her throat a few times before she could manage an answer.</p><p>“Alicia. I—where am I?”</p><p>“You’re on the Abigail. In my room actually. Nick pulled you out of your boat yesterday afternoon, do you remember? You were seriously hypothermic.”</p><p>More memories came back to Elyza. The pirates who had tried to board her boat mere hours after her stunt on the Abigail. When she had resisted and shot one in the head with the gun she had taken from Chris, they had opened fire. Luckily for her, they must have assumed that she was already dead or would drown soon enough because they left the scene once her boat started to sink. Once she realised that it was going to stay partially afloat, she chose to remain inside, in case the pirates came back or some sharks decided to take a closer look. She wasn’t worried about lacking oxygen as the air could still circulate freely inside the wreck, and the waterproof bag made a pretty good buoy, but the low temperature of the water rapidly became an issue. Despite her efforts to stay warm by paddling with her legs, hypothermia settled in. She struggled to stay awake all night and most of the day after, but she had known that she was soon going to lose consciousness and drown when she had heard the sound of an engine nearby. Taking a chance, she had banged one of her knives against a pipe, hoping that whoever was outside wouldn’t be hostile.</p><p>“Hey, are you alright? I’ll go tell my mom you are awake and get you something hot to eat, okay? Don’t move,” the younger girl said, interrupting her thoughts.</p><p>The mother, Madison, came to join her a few minutes later. Even though she remained guarded, she helped Elyza sit against the pillows and gently asked her questions. The blonde told her about what had happened the evening before, how she had been lucky to survive, and warned her against the pirates that could still be lurking around. She also nearly professed her eternal love to the young brunette when the girl came back with soup. Once full, Elyza was slightly better but she could feel the fever settling in, and her eyelids drooping.</p><p>The next time the Australian woke up, it was at the sound of gunshots and a commotion. The room was still dark, but she could see that the sun was starting to rise. Her limbs were looser than the day before, but she was feeling weak and feverish. Rising slowly, she put on the shoes that had been left by the side of the bed, made her way to the door, and cracked it open. She could hear voices coming from the communal area, she recognized some of the Abigail occupants, but the others were foreign to her. She was considering leaving the room and looking for some weapons when she saw Alicia walking towards her, her left arm firmly held by a bearded man in his forties. He pushed the girl into the room across from where Elyza was staying and closed the door behind them.</p><p>
  <em>Oh no, no way in hell.</em>
</p><p>After checking that no one else was coming their way, the blonde crossed the corridor and stealthily entered the other bedroom. She could see Alicia lying on the bed, struggling, while the man was holding her wrists with his left hand and trying to lower her pants with the other. In the absence of any other weapon, Elyza quickly removed one of her shoelaces, got behind the man, and tightened it around his neck. In her weakened state, it took longer than usual, but after a couple of long minutes, he finally passed out. The blonde wasted no time in grabbing the knife he sported at his belt and buried it into his temple. Still in shock, Alicia had barely moved during the time it took to render the man unconscious, and Elyza could now see that she was on the verge of a panic attack.</p><p>“Love, look at me,” she told the brunette, slowly kneeling in front of her and interwinding their fingers. “He won’t hurt you anymore, okay? It’s okay. You’re safe.”</p><p>Once the brunette’s breathing had calmed down a little, she continued.</p><p>“Can you tell me how many of them there are? What kinds of weapons they have?”</p><p>“There—there are four other men,” replied the younger woman, shaking like a leaf. “I saw some guns; I think one of them as a rifle too. My family is out there, what are we gonna do?”</p><p> “<em>We</em> are not going to do anything. <em>You</em> are going to stay here, and <em>I</em>’ll take care of them. You still have the knife I gave you?”</p><p>The brunette nodded slowly.</p><p>“Okay, so you are going to stand here, behind the door. If any of them makes it inside, shove the blade into their neck. Can you do that?”</p><p>The blonde could see the fear in Alicia’s eyes, but also the determination in her clenched jaw. After pushing her gently into the corner of the room, she searched the dead man. Two knives and a pistol; less than she had hoped for, especially against a rifle, but it would have to do. She tied up her shoe again, slid one of the knives into her sock, and inserted the gun between her lower back and her waistband. Holding the second knife between her teeth, she quietly made her way out of the room through the porthole.</p><p>For the second time in less than 48 hours, she climbed the side of the Abigail onto the wheelhouse. She could see two men standing there, one had his back towards her and the other was sideways, looking at the boat computer. After jumping quietly over the railing, she tiptoed behind the first man with the knife in hand. Lifting his chin with her right hand, she slashed deeply across his throat before he could scream, and then threw the knife at the second pirate. In her feverish state, the throw had been a little off, and it caught the man in the throat instead of in the eye. Wasting no time, she grabbed the second knife from her sock, ran to him, and stabbed him deeply in the right eye.</p><p>
  <em>Two fuckers down, two more to go.</em>
</p><p>Elyza retrieved her weapons now covered in blood, and after making sure that the first man wouldn’t rise again, she made her way down the stairs to the first level. She could feel herself shiver more and more, and knew that she had to dispose of the remaining men quickly. Once she made it to the main deck, she noticed that the Abigail occupants were kneeling on the floor with a rifle pointed at them. The irony of the situation would have made her laugh if she hadn’t been on the verge of passing out. She was looking for a way to enter the room without alerting the pirates when she heard the man further from her yell towards the corridor.</p><p>“Yo, Jason! Are you done with the girl or what? Don’t damage her pretty face too much, I want a round with her too.”</p><p>
  <em>Shit. I can’t let him go near Alicia.</em>
</p><p>Unfortunately, the other man was too near the entrance, and he would spot her if she tried to move closer. Drawing Daniel’s attention, she launched herself into a complicated series of gestures that couldn’t really make any sense to a non-delirious mind, but he seemed to get the gist of it. The older man started talking to the pirate to distract him, and once he had moved away from the sliding windows, Elyza was able to enter the room. She was going for his throat when she lost her balance and her foot bumped into one of the couch's legs, making her swear aloud.</p><p>
  <em>So much for discretion.</em>
</p><p>The pirate turned to face her, but Daniel tackled him onto the floor before he could aim his rifle. Grabbing the gun from behind her back, Elyza managed to shoot the fourth assailant, who was already walking towards the corridor to check on Alicia and his accomplice, before he could fire at them. She saw Chris stab the last pirate in the chest with his own knife while Daniel was holding him down, and then everything went black.</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>TW: brief reminder of the scene in the bedroom from Alicia's POV, but no graphic details.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Alicia was having a hard time keeping her breathing under control. The pirates had surprised them not long before dawn, taking advantage of the obscurity to row to the Abigail and surprise its occupants who had just woken up for breakfast. Armed with guns and a rifle, they had hoarded the seven of them in the communal room in a matter of minutes. Travis tried to negotiate, saying that they could take the food and leave, but the men clearly had other ideas. One of them shot a bullet near his face, warning him that the next time he opened his mouth, he would shoot him in the head. Two of the pirates then went out and climbed to the wheelhouse to take control of the yacht, while the other three were keeping them prisoners.</p><p>Alicia still hoped that the situation would not escalate any further, but then one of the men grabbed her by the arm and ushered her towards the rooms at the back. She tried to resist; but when he threatened to kill her family members one by one if she did not go with him, she released the knife still hidden in her pocket. She could hear her mother plead with the men not to hurt her daughter, but if the pirates’ snarky smiles were any indication, it was only making things worse. She was desperately praying that the man would not find the sleeping Australian in her cabin, as she was their only hope.</p><p>Once in the bedroom across from hers, the man pushed her onto the bed and began to undress her. Trying to fight back, she felt the tears rolling down the sides of her face when, suddenly, the weight on her body shifted. She saw the bearded man struggling for breath and turning red and then purple, something narrow tied around his neck, until he fell on the floor unconscious. Elyza. Despite the fever that was making her wobble, the woman managed to take down the man and killed him without any hesitation. For the first time, Alicia had seen how truly dangerous the blonde could be. But after that act of violence, the older woman had been so gentle, she had helped her calm down and had pushed her into a corner to keep her safe.</p><p>And now Alicia had no other choice but to wait, and hope that Elyza would perform a miracle. She was listening carefully, but so far, she hadn’t heard anything other than the voices of the pirates in the communal area. Suddenly, one of them shouted in her direction.</p><p>“Yo, Jason! Are you done with the girl or what? Don’t damage her pretty face too much, I want a round with her too.”</p><p>Feeling a bead of sweat making its way slowly down her neck, she held her knife more tightly, ready to stab the man if he dared to enter the room. But the door remained closed, and instead, she heard a gunshot and the sound of a struggle. Peeking into the corridor, she saw the body of one of the pirates on the floor, blood coming out of a hole in his head. She quickly made her way to the lounge area and saw Daniel finish off another one of their assailants by stabbing him in the head.</p><p>“Alicia,” she heard her mother cry out, relief evident in her voice. “Are you okay? Where is the man who took you?”</p><p>“He is dead,” she replied, still shocked. “Elyza killed him. She saved me, Mom.”</p><p>Her eyes finally took in the whole scene in front of her, and her eyebrows shot up when she spotted the blonde lying unconscious on the floor.</p><p>“Elyza,” she shouted, kneeling near the lifeless body. “Are you okay?”</p><p>She gently turned the woman over so she would lie on her back, looking for signs of injury.</p><p>“She is fine, baby. I don’t think she was hurt. She shot the man there, and then she passed out.”</p><p>“I am guessing she is also the one who killed our two other guests upstairs,” Strand said, coming back from the wheelhouse with the rifle in his hands. “They both had their throats torn open and a stab wound to the head. Your little friend here is quite the fighter.”</p><p>Alicia gently caressed the sweaty forehead of the older woman, noticing the signs of the fever that was plaguing her.</p><p>“She is burning up. Can you put her on the couch?” she asked the others. “I will look for a basin or something and a cloth to help lower her temperature.”</p><p>“Alicia,” Strand said, “she is dangerous. Look at all this. She was barely conscious and she still managed to kill four armed men all by herself. She can’t stay. We should get rid of her before she wakes up and decides to go all Rambo on us too.”</p><p>The brunette was not going to back down so easily. However, before she had the chance to argue, her mother looked at Strand and raised her hand like she was trying to stop him from coming closer.</p><p>“We can’t do that, Victor. What kind of people would that make us? She saved my daughter’s life. She saved all of us. She could have stayed hidden or tried to escape, but she took a huge risk to protect us. I still don’t trust her, but I owe her, and I can’t let you toss her overboard just like that.”</p><p>Travis stood up and came by Madison’s side, his back to Alicia and Elyza.</p><p>“I agree with Madison. Like it or not, we are indebted to this woman. That should be enough to earn her a clean slate. She didn’t hurt us before when clearly, she could have, and then she risked her life for us. We can always part ways once we land, but for now, she is staying.”</p><p>Strand sighed, but he nodded nonetheless and went back to dispose of the bodies in the wheelhouse. Travis and Nick lifted the unconscious blonde onto one of the couches, while Alicia went to look for supplies to help lower her fever. She came back a few minutes later with a basin full of cold water and an old T-shirt. Sitting next to the woman’s head, she gently applied the wet fabric on her forehead. She repeated the operation several times, waiting for her beautiful savior to wake up.</p><p>A couple of hours later, she was starting to fall asleep too when she felt the blonde next to her become agitated. She was jerking in her sleep, mumbling, and her eyes were moving rapidly. All signs pointed to a nightmare. Alicia stroked the blond hair that was falling on her lap in an attempt to appease the woman, but her face was scrunching more and more. Suddenly, the blue eyes opened and the Australian woke up, gasping for air.</p><p>“It's okay. You’re safe,” the brunette told her, still stroking her hair, subconsciously repeating what the blonde had said earlier. “Do you want to talk about it?”</p><p>The blonde shook her head and closed her eyes again, her breathing slowing down. Feeling bold, Alicia moved her hand closer to the woman's forehead and started to apply more pressure, massaging the scalp. Her cheek reddened when the older woman let a breathy moan escape, but she did not stop her ministrations.</p><p>“I didn’t have time to say it earlier, but thank you for saving me,” she quietly told the Australian. “I—I couldn’t do anything. I wanted to push him away, to fight back, but I was so terrified. He said he would kill my family if I resisted, and—”</p><p>“Hey, it’s okay, Love,” the blue-eyed woman interrupted, looking at her kindly. “You did well. He would have killed you if you had given him a reason to. It was smarter to wait for an opening.”</p><p>“You know,” she continued after a moment, “if you want, I could teach you how to defend yourself. I mean, once the room stops spinning.”</p><p>“Yeah, I would like that,” the brunette chuckled. “But for now, you should probably rest more. I can’t have you pass out on me again, it’s already the second time since we’ve met.”</p><p>“Not my fault I keep falling for you,” the blonde grumbled, but she closed her eyes obediently and let sleep claim her again.</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Elyza was feeling much better, although she was pretending to still be weak so the cute brown-haired angel wouldn’t stop taking care of her. For the past two days, the younger woman had kept her company most of the time, checking her temperature regularly, making sure she was eating enough, and waking her up when the nightmares became too intense. Nick had offered to move to the couch in the communal area since he was feeling claustrophobic in the cabin, and the blonde had taken possession of his bed. Madison had tried to argue against it, but once Alicia had pointed out that it would make it easier for her to keep an eye on the woman and that Elyza would recover faster if she didn’t have people walking around her all the time, her mother had relented.</p><p>The Australian knew that she was still on thin ice and that most of her new companions didn’t trust her yet, but at least they weren’t openly hostile anymore. Well, except for Chris, who was glaring at her every time they crossed paths, but the little prick didn’t scare her. Once she had started to feel better, they had questioned her about her skills and the events that had led to their meeting. She had mentioned her family in Australia and had talked about her past as a combat medic in the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps, though she had kept the details of her experience on the frontline to herself. The adults had seemed pleased to learn that she wasn’t just a very efficient killing machine and that her alleged medical skills were real. She had even checked Ofelia’s shoulder and reassured both her and Daniel by confirming that the wound was healing nicely and that she shouldn’t have any sequelae.</p><p>After Strand had told the group that he had in place in Mexico with food and water where they could all stay and be safe, the Abigail continued its journey south, and they were lucky enough not to encounter any more pirates. When they reached the Mexican waters at night, Strand sent Nick ashore under the cover of darkness to look for a contact who was supposed to lead them to a safe place. To say that Madison was furious when she found out in the morning would be an understatement. Alicia wisely chose to stay away from her pacing mum and to hide in the cabin until her brother came back.</p><p>Elyza could feel her roommate’s stare, and she turned on her side to face her. The emerald eyes were looking at her with a questioning gaze, but the girl didn’t say a word. After their first night together in the cabin, Alicia had asked her about the nightmares that seemed to plague her sleep, more intense and persistent than even what an apocalypse should bring. The blonde had replied that she wasn’t ready to talk about it, <em>not yet</em>. To her credit, the brunette hadn’t insisted, but the older woman had an inkling that the topic would be revisited eventually.</p><p>When the sound of an engine reached their ears, the two women made their way back to the main deck. They arrived just in time to see Nick step off an inflatable boat, with a bearded man in his mid-thirties. Strand shook the man’s hand and introduced him to the group as Luis, an old acquaintance who would make a deal with the Mexican military on their behalf.</p><p>Things, however, didn’t go quite as planned. Once the Abigail got close to the military boat, Luis was supposed to go and meet his contact, Miguel, to give him money in exchange for safe passage for him and Strand. But when they spotted two soldiers coming toward them on a speedboat instead, the three Clarks, Travis, Chris, Elyza, Ofelia, and Daniel had to hide below deck.</p><p>Holding their breath and trying not to panic, the eight people were gathered in the engine room. Elyza was standing with her right shoulder slightly in front of Alicia’s body and was giving her tight smiles from time to time to reassure her. Daniel, with a gun in his hands, stood guard by the door and tried to listen to the conversation upstairs.</p><p>“One of them is saying he likes the boat. He's impressed by it and wants to know how much it costs,” the older man translated for the rest of the group. “Strand says that he would rather not talk about money. They're discussing the price for two people. Luis is making the payment.”</p><p>“Now he's saying it’s a big vessel for two people,” Daniel continued worryingly. “He wants to make sure there are no infected on board.”</p><p>Suddenly, they heard shots being fired, and the distinctive sound of a body hitting the floor. Daniel cocked his gun, and Elyza produced a knife out of her sock. Spotting Alicia looking at her with a raised eyebrow, she shrugged. She was about to defend herself when she saw the brunette take her butterfly knife out of her back pocket and flip it open.</p><p>“What?” the younger girl asked in defiance. “I’ve been practicing.”</p><p>The blonde barely had time to smile proudly at her that the engine of the Abigail roared. Running to the main deck, the group saw Luis, deeply wounded in the stomach, and the bodies of the two soldiers lying outside. Crouching to avoid the shots coming from the other military boats, Daniel stabbed the two men in the temple. Before he could mercy kill Luis, however, the dying man begged him not to hit him in the head, and at Ofelia and Nick’s insistence, he reluctantly went back inside.</p><p>Probably assuming that whatever was on land would kill the Abigail occupants, the soldiers stopped pursuing them once the boat got closer to the shore. Elyza would have felt happy about it if not for the gnawing feeling in her stomach that they weren't out of the woods yet.</p><p>Unaware of the blonde’s worries and excited to be finally back on solid ground, the group ventured into the closest town. After walking for about half an hour, they arrived in front of a church where bodies were left to rot in a pile. They were sporting nice clothes, like they had gone to Mass and unexpectedly all dropped dead on their way out.</p><p>Strand ran inside and started shouting, “Thomas! Thomas!” when Chris suddenly heard a dozen more dead shuffling towards them. Grabbing blades and pieces of wood from the floor, the group started defending itself. Elyza and Alicia were back to back, stabbing the dead parishioners as they came closer. Nick, a hatchet in his hands, hesitated before plunging it into the head of a girl who couldn’t have been more than eight years old. After pulling his weapon out, he sat on the church’s stairs, distraught, and emptied his stomach between his legs. Daniel ended up in a similar situation and couldn’t bring himself to finish a young altar boy, when Ofelia jumped in and stabbed the child in the head with a fine blade. Travis, swinging a baseball bat around, didn’t see Madison go down when a walker fell on her after she had hit him in the stomach. Struggling to finish him off, she let go of her knife and tried to hold him back by the throat with both hands.</p><p>“Chris!” Elyza heard the brunette behind her shout.</p><p>The boy was standing near Madison, unharmed, but he hadn’t made a move to help her. Alicia ran to her mother and stabbed the dead man at the back of the head before pushing the body off and helping her stand up. Elyza, following closely, killed the last of the walkers, a middle-aged woman who was crawling near the two Clark women. Before the noise could attract more dead, the group quickly got into a ute that Strand had noticed parked by the church, and they left the town square now covered in blood.</p><p>Sitting at the back against one of the sidewalls, Elyza was admiring the empty fields surrounding the road while wiping her hands on her shirt when she felt Alicia’s head lean on her right shoulder. The younger girl seemed to be coming down from the adrenaline rush, and she looked like she was struggling to stay awake all of the sudden. The blonde let her own head rest against the brunette and closed her eyes, oblivious to Ofelia’s curious glances and Chris’s side ones.</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Alicia opened her eyes about 20 minutes later when the pickup came to a stop. The whitewashed walls surrounding the hacienda were two meters high, and the metallic gate in front of them looked rather sturdy. For the first time in days, the brunette thought that maybe they would be safe. Once the gate automatically opened, Strand drove until they reached what seemed to be a path leading to the main building.</p><p>After grabbing their bags, the group followed Strand as he walked decisively toward the entrance. But before they could reach the building, a Mexican woman in her early sixties welcomed them and took Strand apart. Based on what Alicia could overhear of the conversation, the woman, Celia, was Luis’s mother. The brunette was surprised by her reaction when she did not burst into tears after learning that the military had killed her son. She simply replied that he would “find his way back”, but maybe the poor mother was just in shock.</p><p>While Strand was making his way into the building, presumably to meet the “Thomas” he had been looking for, two house employees, all dressed in white, offered to give the rest of the group a tour of the house. Before they could enter, however, the remaining eight people were asked to leave their weapons with the staff. Madison, Travis, Chris, Nick, and Ofelia obeyed without complaint, but Daniel and Elyza remained clearly hesitant. When Daniel questioned the woman, she replied that they did not need them inside; and that if they wanted to keep them, they would have to stay outside. Those were the house rules. After Ofelia pleaded with him, Daniel reluctantly gave up his knife and gun. The blonde followed suit and dropped two blades onto the pile of weapons with a shrug and a discreet wink in Alicia’s direction. The younger woman knew that her companion still had at least two knives hidden somewhere on her body; and she, herself, still had the balisong tucked in her back pocket. To distract the employees, she grabbed the Australian’s hand and, with a bright smile, started pulling her toward the others.</p><p>“Come on Lyza, let’s hurry! I’m starving.”</p><p>She had to have seemed innocent enough, with her ponytail and her still relatively clean flannel shirt, because the women let them pass.</p><p>After putting their bags into the guest rooms that were assigned to them, Elyza decided to have a look around, and Alicia, still recovering from the stress of the previous few days, slouched into one of the couches to watch TV. Some old American movie was playing when Chris sat next to her, trying to start a conversation. Remembering what he had done at the church, as well as Elyza’s previous warnings, she left him the remote and stood up. She was heading toward the door when she heard his voice again.</p><p>“Are you mad at me?” he asked, looking at her with pleading eyes.</p><p>“I saw what you did,” she replied, trying to remain calm.</p><p>“Whatever you think you saw—”</p><p>“I <em>know</em> what I saw. Chris, you were watching. They were going to kill her and you were watching. You were gonna stand there and let it happen.” She could hear her voice getting louder as her anger increased.</p><p>“You can’t tell anyone, Alicia,” he said, moving to stand in front of her. “Don’t. If you tell everybody this lie, what will happen to our family? Whatever you think you saw, it’s wrong. I froze, that’s it.”</p><p>The brunette was trying to push her way past him when he grabbed her by the shoulders, backing her up against a wall.</p><p>“You can’t say anything,” he repeated, an edge in his voice.</p><p>“I don’t want to hurt anyone,” he added, before leaving the room.</p><p>Alicia could feel her heart pounding in her chest, and she had to lean against the wall to catch her breath. This was how Elyza found her, a few minutes later.</p><p>“Hey, Love, are you okay? I had a look around; the coast seems clear. Nick is all buddy-buddy in the kitchen with Celia, Daniel and Ofelia are outside, and Travis and your mum are resting, I think. I haven’t seen Strand yet.”</p><p>The younger woman wanted to tell her about everything, how she had felt threatened by Chris, how she was convinced that he would have let her mother die back at the church. But she kept her mouth shut, knowing that the blonde would, at the very least, break the boy’s jaw if she heard about their confrontation. Instead, she asked the Australian if they could take a walk, and they left the room together.</p><p>They walked through fields of corn, avocado, and potatoes; their shoulders often brushing, their non-dominant hands close enough that they would touch on occasion. Alicia could feel the reassuring presence of the blonde calming her, and yet at the same time, she did not know what to think. She could not figure out the effect the older woman had on her. She had never been attracted to a woman before, but she knew that whatever was happening between them, she had never felt anything similar to the opposite sex. She had kissed a couple of boys during a game of spin-the-bottle at 15 and then had briefly gone out with another sophomore before she and Matt had started dating at the end of junior year. She still was not sure if she had truly loved him or not, but the teenager had been sweet, he had treated her kindly, and had agreed to wait when she had said that she was not ready to have sex yet. So, when he had told her those three words on their fourth month anniversary, saying them back had been easy enough. The blue-eyed woman was probably sensing that the brunette was lost in thoughts because she did not ask questions or try to make conversation, she seemed happy to simply stay by her side until they decided to go back inside.   </p><p>After dinner, Alicia opted to talk to her mom while Elyza went to her room to bathe and rest. She told her how she had seen Chris standing by while the walker had nearly killed her, and how he had tried to intimidate her during the afternoon. Upon hearing the whole thing, Madison, furious, went to find Travis. The brunette could hear them argue in their room, Travis did not seem to believe his son would hurt anyone, and he sounded hurt that his fiancée would not want to help Chris get better. Eventually, the couple decided to stay with their respective children that night, and Madison joined Alicia in her bedroom.</p><p>The girl was on the bed, looking at the ceiling when she felt her mother lie next to her.</p><p>“Hey baby, how are you?” she asked. “I talked to Travis; he is going to keep an eye on Chris. I don’t know what’s wrong with him, but I won’t let him come near you again, okay?”</p><p>“We’ll figure it out, we always do,” she added after a minute. “You don’t have to be afraid.”</p><p>“I’m not afraid, Mom. It’s just—Elyza was right. He is dangerous. I don’t think he would hurt us, but you could have gotten killed today because of him. We can’t <em>trust</em> him, and in this new world, that’s a problem.”</p><p>“I know, baby. What matters is that I’m fine, you and I are fine, and we will stay that way,” her mother said before spooning her.</p><p>“Besides,” she continued, “don’t think too much about what Elyza says, okay? I’m sure she will be on her way soon enough, and we will have one less thing to worry about.”</p><p>Alicia sighed, but she was too tired to have that conversation. She thought that her group was safer with the blonde around and that she was feeling much better — although increasingly confused as well — knowing that the woman would have her back, but she could not begin to imagine how to explain that to her stubborn mother. Instead, she closed her eyes and let the breathing of the older woman behind her lull her to sleep.</p><p>She had slept for maybe an hour when suddenly the sound of a gunshot woke her and her mother up. Looking around the room, she spotted Chris, a weird look on his face and a knife in his hands, standing behind the older Clark.</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Some smut in this one. If it's not your thing you can skip the first few paragraphs.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Elyza was enjoying the room’s large bathtub and she found herself almost entirely immersed in warm water. She couldn’t remember the last time she had had more than a lukewarm shower. Even though the Abigail was a pretty luxurious yacht, the shower cubicle had still been small, and the water had lacked pressure. But now, her muscles were relaxing by the minute, and she had no intention of leaving the tub for a while.</p><p>The blonde also appreciated finally having some time alone. After her years in the Army, she was used to packed places and room sharing, but the lack of privacy had eventually made her rather frustrated. Alicia was a great companion, of course, not just because of her obvious gorgeousness, but also thanks to her wit and cheeky sense of humor. Still, the fact that she had remained by Elyza’s side almost constantly had prevented the 26-year-old from seeking any type of release, and she was frequently left hot and bothered. She had a feeling the brunette wasn’t very experienced, and she probably didn’t realise the effect she had on the Australian. But after days of lingering glances and brief touches, the blonde was having a hard time keeping her hands off the younger girl.</p><p>Rather than ignoring the heat that she was starting to feel in the lower half of her body, the woman slowly brought her right hand to her breasts. She began kneading them purposely while her left hand made its way downwards, where she needed it the most. She hadn’t really had time to get herself off since the world had gone to shit, and she knew that she wouldn’t last long. She could sense her nipples already hardened between her fingers, and she started making small circles on her clit, applying more and more pressure each time. Trying to slow down a little, she pushed her hand further down, entering herself with two fingers. Images of the brunette flooded her mind while she kept pumping in and out at a lazy pace; the kiss she had stolen on the Abigail, the green eyes looking at her with concern when she was sick, the feeling of the girl’s hands in her hair.</p><p>Elyza could feel the muscle of her legs starting to spasm, the water slightly splashing around her with the movements of her wrist. She bit her lower lip to stop the moans that threatened to escape. With her two fingers still curled inside, a tweaked nipple and a flicker of the thumb on her clit were enough to make her eyes roll to the back of her head and the rest of her body tense for a few glorious seconds before it went limp. Keeping her eyes close, the blonde waited for her breathing to return to normal before pulling her fingers out. On shaky legs, she exited the tub slowly, dried herself with the softest towel she had ever seen, and fell on the bed. She had just enough energy to put on the clean knickers she had left there before her bath, and she slid under the blanket before sleep claimed her.</p><p>She was dreaming of the emerald eyes that obsessed her when the sound of a gunshot jerked her awake. She was already sitting by the time she realised what had happened. Not wasting another second, she put on a T-shirt and went to her door. She had barely opened it when she heard Alicia’s voice coming from the room next to hers.</p><p>“Chris! What the hell are you doing? Get out!”</p><p>Elyza ran to the closed door and threw it open. She caught only a glimpse of Chris back before the boy disappeared through the French window.</p><p>“Alicia,” she asked the younger girl standing there in a tank top and a pair of shorts, “what happened? Are you alright?”</p><p>“Yeah. Chris was standing behind us when we woke up, he had a knife in his hand.”</p><p>
  <em>I’m gonna kill that little fucker.</em>
</p><p>The blonde started to move closer to the window to run after the teenager when Alicia caught her forearm.</p><p>“Wait! Please, stay,” she implored. “It’s dark, who knows where he went. Please, don’t leave.”</p><p>Elyza exhaled deeply, and nodded, not taking her eyes off the brunette's anxious face. After her daughter had reassured her that she was not in any immediate danger anymore and that the ex-soldier would keep her safe, Madison told them to lock themselves in and left to inform Travis of what had happened and to find out where the gunshot had come from.</p><p>Even after closing the French window and the door, the blonde was still breathing erratically, and she started to feel lightheaded.</p><p>“Are <em>you</em> okay?” Alicia asked, the concern clear in her voice. “You look like you are about to puke.”</p><p>“Yes,” she replied after a deep breath. “Sorry, Love, you are the one who was in danger, and I’m the one losing my nerves.”</p><p>“It’s just,” she added after a few seconds, “you could have been injured, or worse. When I think of what that little piece of shit could have done, I—I just, I don’t know what I would have done. I swear if I catch him—”</p><p>“Hey, it’s okay. I’m fine, he didn’t hurt me,” said the brunette, caressing the older woman’s arm up and down slowly before standing in front of her and holding her by the shoulders.</p><p>“Lyza, look at me. I’m okay,” she continued kindly. “I’m not going anywhere.”</p><p>The blonde took one step closer and threw her arms around the girl’s waist, her face nuzzling the soft neck surrounded by brown hair. Inhaling slowly to stop her body from shaking, she felt the younger woman’s arms come to rest around the back of her neck, and a hand found its way into her hair. Their bodies were flushed against each other, chest to chest, so close that a piece of paper wouldn’t have fit.</p><p>Elyza moved her head back from the brunette’s neck, and blue eyes stared into hesitant green ones. Before she could second-guess herself, she closed the distance between them and kissed the plump lips gently. Not unlike the first time she had done it on the Abigail, she didn’t apply much pressure, happy to be simply feeling the girl’s lips against her own. But then, she felt Alicia whimper and grab the back of her head more forcefully, and she lost all control. Her mouth, which had been shy and soft, became hungry. She moved against the brunette with renewed vigor, sucking in the upper and the lower lip alternately. When she half-opened her mouth to breathe, a curious tongue peeked inside, asking for permission. Her hands, which had remained at the younger girl’s waist, started moving of their own accord. One came to rest at the lower back of the woman, gently scratching the warm skin, while the other got lost in silky brown waves.</p><p>Backing them slowly, she found herself leaning against the wall, the brunette still pressed against her. Their kisses had become insistent, hot and wet, and she felt a hand grab her T-shirt at the hem and tug at it while the other was caressing her baby hair. She couldn’t stop the moan that left her lips when a lean thigh inadvertently pressed against her core, her already wet knickers the only separation between them, and Alicia suddenly backed away, all flustered.</p><p>“I—I’m sorry. I can’t. This—this is going too fast,” the girl said, cheeks pink and pupils so dilated the green circle was barely visible.</p><p>“Hey, don’t apologise,” the blonde replied with a raspy voice. “I’m the one who should say sorry. I shouldn’t have attacked your mouth like that.”</p><p>Seeing the brunette redden even more, she scolded herself for her word choice.</p><p>“Listen, Alicia, I like you. A lot. You’re smart, and brave, and funny, and so damn beautiful. But I shouldn’t have kissed without your permission — again — especially after what happened tonight. So, I’m sorry, and I promise I’ll behave from now on. I can leave if you prefer, or get your mum for you.”</p><p>“I think my mom needs to talk to Travis. You can stay, just — could you wear some pants maybe?” the younger woman asked shyly, looking everywhere else other than at the naked legs.</p><p>“Sure!” Elyza replied, with a grin on her face.</p><p>Once she had put on a pair of shorts, the two women lay down on the queen bed, facing each other.</p><p>“Rest well Alicia.”</p><p>“Goodnight Elyza.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Alicia slept well that night, despite everything that had happened. She woke up early, an arm around her waist and a warm body against her back. She thought she was still with her mother before she remembered the events that had transpired the night before. The confrontation with Chris, the boy standing menacingly behind her mother, the kiss. The kiss. It had been an earth-shattering experience, and for a moment, Alicia had been so caught up in it that she would have let Elyza do anything to her. She had only known the Australian for a few days, and yet the blood in her veins turned to fire in a matter of seconds. She wanted to feel the woman’s naked body against hers, to give herself completely to the blonde, and to hear her moan and whimper too. But then, feeling the woman's wetness against her thigh, she panicked. Thankfully, Elyza had seemed to understand that she wasn’t fully ready to take it to the next step, and she had shown her nothing but kindness.</p><p>Alicia turned slowly to face the blonde. She was still sleeping, snoring slightly. The brunette took her time admiring the beautiful woman. Her mussed hair, a shade lighter than usual in the morning sunlight, the beauty mark above her parted lips, her dimpled chin, the deep blue eyes that opened slowly and stared into hers.</p><p>“Morning, Love.”</p><p>“Hi,” Alicia replied with a shy smile, slightly embarrassed to have been caught staring. “Did you sleep well? No nightmares this time?”</p><p>“Nope, I slept like a baby. Must be the company,” the woman said with a smirk.</p><p>Alicia was still wondering why the blonde had so many bad dreams. She had a feeling it had something to do with her past as a soldier, but not wanting to ruin the moment, she kept her questions to herself. The two women got out of bed and left the room shortly after, anxious to know what had happened the evening before and if Chris was still around. When they arrived in the living room, they saw Travis, Madison, Strand, and Celia, all staring at each other in silence.</p><p>They rapidly learned that Thomas, Strand’s lover, had been bitten before they arrived at the hacienda and that Strand had pulled a bullet into his brain the previous night after his heart had stopped. Celia seemed extremely upset at the turn of events and had apparently expected Strand to let the man turn so they could stay together. It didn’t make any sense to the group, why would she want to keep such a threat around? The four adults resumed their argument, Celia wanting them all to leave, and Madison trying to plead their case.</p><p>The situation surprisingly improved when Nick came back to the hacienda an hour later, covered in blood and guts, pushing a dead Luis in front of him. After hearing Celia tell him how the dead were still their responsibility, that they had always walked among them even though they could not see them before, he had walked back to the Abigail to get the man. The Mexican woman, glad to have her son returned to her, eventually agreed to let the group stay, but Strand was still not welcome anymore. He would have until sunset to bury Thomas, gather his things, and leave the property. While he went to pick up the body of his deceased lover, Travis took Alicia apart on the porch.</p><p>“Have you seen Chris?” he asked anxiously. “I can’t find him. Help me look for him, I’m gonna check outside.”</p><p>“No!” she replied, shocked at the man’s request. “He had a knife. When the shot went off last night, he was in our room, standing over Mom with a knife.”</p><p>“Stop! He would never hurt her, or you.”</p><p>“Do you think I’m lying?” she scoffed angrily.</p><p>The man did not respond anymore, he shook his head and continued his search on his own. Alicia, annoyed at the man who clearly had a blind spot when it came to his son, went back inside. She took a shower and was about to return to the living room to watch TV when Elyza and her mother entered hastily.</p><p>“We have a problem,” her mother started. “This place isn’t as safe as we thought it was.”</p><p>“What are you talking about?” the girl asked.</p><p>“The cellar, it’s full of walkers,” Elyza replied. “We followed the employees when they took Luis and we saw them put him in there with the others, maybe 20 of them. I’m guessing that’s why they didn’t want us to keep our weapons, or why Celia is so upset over what Strand did. They keep the dead.”</p><p>“And that’s not all,” the older blonde spoke again. “Daniel was in that building too, tied up to a chair. We just saw Ofelia, she said that he wasn’t feeling well, like he was hallucinating or something. Apparently, he tried to beat up a man last night, and they restrained him. I’m telling you, that woman is insane. She talks about the dead like they’re just a new step of our evolution or something, and she has Nick wrapped around her little finger. As soon as he and Travis return, we need to leave.”</p><p>“Where did they go?” Elyza asked, surprised to hear of their departure.</p><p>“Travis ran after Chris earlier, I saw him leave the property, and Nick just left to find them both,” Madison replied.</p><p>Alicia wasn’t sure what to think anymore. The hacienda had seemed like a safe place when they had arrived, but now, less than a day later, they were supposed to flee again. Was that their life now? Constantly escaping the dead and most of the living? She could feel tears of frustration pool into her eyes, and she looked to the side, sniffling.</p><p>“Hey,” Elyza said, taking her hand. “You’re gonna be fine. We will find another place, okay? Who knows, it could even have some animals this time. What do you think, Love? Maybe you can teach me to ride a horse, or to milk a cow? You’re the one who’s supposed to be a cowgirl after all. And you already have all the flannel you need.”</p><p>As ridiculous as it sounded, Alicia could not help but chuckle wetly. Throwing a grateful look at the blonde, she squeezed her hand once before letting go. She saw her mother raise an eyebrow at the familiarity between them, but she did not say anything.</p><p>In the end, the three women agreed to wait for Travis and Nick to come back, let Ofelia know about their plans, free Daniel if the Salazars agreed to go with them, grab Strand and leave the hacienda. The matter of Chris was still uncertain. Madison knew that Travis would not want to abandon his son, but the boy was obviously unstable, and they all sort of hoped that the man would return alone. Elyza had never liked the surly teenager anyway, and she made it quite clear that if he were to come back, she would not let him touch Alicia with a ten-foot pole.</p><p>Alicia was also wondering how her brother would react. Nick had always been a wild card, but his recent behavior had been even more erratic than usual. He left the Abigail on a risky solo mission, he seemed very distraught in the town after killing the young walker, he had gone back to the Abigail alone to fetch a dead Luis, and then he had left again, presumably to bring Travis back. She had to agree with her mother, Celia clearly seemed to have a strong influence on him, and the brunette was not convinced that her brother would follow them and leave the hacienda of his own volition.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Elyza was lying on her bed in the late afternoon, wondering what the sunset would bring. Soon, Strand would be forced to leave the property, and the group would have a decision to make. She knew that staying at the hacienda was not a good plan. Now that Thomas was dead, the staff had no reason to accommodate them, and a cellar full of walkers sounded like a disaster waiting to happen.</p><p>Madison seemed to agree with her, but if it came to it, would the older blonde agree to leave before Travis and Nick returned? And where would they go? Rationally, Elyza knew that she would have a better chance of making it on her own. She had the skills and training necessary to ensure her survival, and most of the others were a liability. Chris was bonkers, Travis was blind and too naïve for this new world, Nick was notoriously unreliable on a good day, Daniel was apparently losing his marbles too, and Strand was a weasel who would abandon them without a second thought to save his own skin. Even Madison, who seemed more levelheaded than the others, could become a problem. She meant well and fancied herself a leader, but the ex-soldier had a feeling that the woman would willingly put herself and Alicia at risk for her son, and that was not something that sat well with the blonde. Which left Ofelia, but she was still recovering from her wound, and who knew how she would react if she lost her father too, and Alicia.</p><p>Elyza sighed deeply. How the brunette had managed to get under her skin in only eight days was a mystery. The Australian had always been confident, and she couldn't deny that Nature had been kind to her. She had had no shortage of women in her bed over the years. And yet, for once, she felt a true connection with someone, even though they hadn’t even slept together. The blonde knew that she simply couldn’t leave the girl behind, even if that meant been stuck with the other Clarks and affiliates.</p><p>Elyza was still lost in thoughts when she heard screams outside the main building. Running to the scene, she noticed some smoke and flames coming from the building where the cellar was located. On instinct, she crouched quietly behind a parapet, 50 feet or so from the door. She was trying to stay clear of the hacienda employees and looking for a way in when the building exploded, lighting the ones nearby. Stunned, she wobbled on her knees, looking around. She spotted an employee running away screaming, her clothes burning. Further away, Madison and Alicia were holding an Ofelia in tears, screaming at the fire.</p><p>“What the hell happened?” the Australian asked them, still panting.</p><p>“It must have been Daniel,” the mother replied. “Celia told me she was going to release him, and they haven’t made it out of the building.”</p><p>“I’m sorry Ofelia,” she continued, looking at the broken woman. “I wish—”</p><p>“We need to leave,” Alicia interrupted. “This place is not safe anymore. They might blame us for this, and even if they don’t, the noise and fire will attract all the dead in a 5-mile radius. We have to go.”</p><p>“But Travis and Nick aren’t back yet,” her mother replied anxiously. “We can’t leave without them.”</p><p>“Madison,” Elyza said, “Alicia is right. This fire is a beacon for the dead. They are going to swarm this place, we have to leave, now! Otherwise, we’ll be dead before they come back.”</p><p>They barely had time to grab a few things from their rooms and move towards the entrance when they noticed a dozen walkers getting closer and closer to the compound. Luckily for them, Strand, who had clearly been forgotten in the commotion, had managed to come back inside and claim the ute. For once, the blonde appreciated the reformed conman’s resourcefulness. He helped a still crying Ofelia onto the bed of the truck, and Elyza and Alicia climbed after her. Spotting some angry employees coming their way, they were about to leave when Madison saw Nick, covered in blood again, who had just returned from his search and looked like he was going to take off. She went to talk to him, and grabbed his hand as if to pull him towards the truck. But the young man shook his head, told her something Elyza couldn’t hear, and disappeared among the walkers. Strand had to drag the mother back and shove her onto the passenger seat so they could flee. Maneuvering carefully between the dead, they managed to make their way out of the burning property.</p><p>The group, now comprised of five people, made its way back to the beach, in hopes of getting back onto the Abigail. Unfortunately, once they reached the waterfront, the boat was nowhere to be seen. They had to accept the idea that the soldiers who had shot at them the morning before had taken it. The night was setting in, and they were forced to move again. Madison reluctantly revealed that Nick had told her he had found Travis, and that her fiancé couldn’t come back yet because Chris was too unstable. But she refused to consider all three of them lost, and wanted to wait for their return. After arguing with her mother over her stubbornness and telling her that it was only both of them now, whether she liked it or not, Alicia came up with the idea to leave instructions on the beach and started collecting pieces of wood.</p><p>
  <em>Abigail lost head north</em>
</p><p>Once the message was done, they got back into the ute, and followed the coast for another 10 minutes or so, before discovering an abandoned house. It was a small one-storey house which had clearly seen better days. But as it was only for the night, the group made its way inside, looking carefully for any walker or hostiles. There was only one bedroom, a living room with a sofa, and a bathroom on the side. The kitchen was nearly empty, but Madison found a few cans and started preparing dinner. Ofelia was in the bedroom, still crying over her father’s death, while Alicia was rubbing her back gently, trying to console her. Elyza let Strand barricade the windows as best as he could, and she went for a patrol around the house. They seemed to have been lucky for once, as she didn’t see a single walker around. They were probably all at the hacienda by now. The thought made her shiver.</p><p>The night went pretty uneventfully. Madison and Alicia took the first watch, Elyza and Strand the second. As they had been forced to give up their weapons the day before, they now only had Elyza’s two knives, Alicia’s balisong, and a small gun that Strand had left in the glove compartment of the ute before. Thankfully, no living or dead made its way to the door, and the only noise disturbing the silence was Ofelia’s whimpers. The ex-soldier used the downtime to whittle a couple of wooden stakes out of one of the chair's legs. The stay would have been almost comfortable if they had had running water, but at least they had a roof over their heads and, most importantly, walls to protect them.</p><p>Once morning came, they ate the rest of the supplies hidden in the kitchen, before getting in their vehicle once again. Ofelia had stopped crying, but she also hadn’t said much since the evening before, and she looked completely defeated.</p><p>They continued to head north along the beach until they reached a large hotel complex that seemed deserted, <em>The Rosarito Beach Hotel </em>sign on top barely visible in the morning fog. The main tower, probably where the rooms were, stood around 30 storeys above ground, and several much smaller buildings looking like shops were surrounding it. The five survivors observed the place for a couple of hours, and not detecting any movement inside, they decided to go in.</p>
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<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Alicia, her butterfly knife in hand, was on the alert. The small group, armed with knives and makeshift stakes, had carefully made its way to the main entrance of the hotel. The smaller buildings around had seemed empty at first, but they could now hear the shuffle and the groans signaling the presence of walkers inside. The hall in front of them looked walker-free, and someone had taken the time to pile up chairs and tables to block the entrance.</p><p>After a couple of minutes, Strand managed to wiggle a flat piece of metal he had found on the ground into the opening between the doors and he forced them open as quietly as possible. Moving the tables proved to be a more delicate operation, and some of them fell on the floor, the noise echoing in the empty hall. No dead appeared, though, and the five people, relieved, started exploring the place. The front desk was still clean and organized, as if the staff had just left to take a break. The next room, whose doors had been ripped from their hinges, revealed itself to be a large reception area, where the remains of what looked like a wedding party were visible. Some of the tables were broken and their decorations lay on the floor, but most of the scene was beautiful, albeit tragic, like the wedding cake that remained untouched.</p><p>“The happiest day of somebody’s life,” Ofelia gloomily said.</p><p>The trip to the kitchen proved to be a waste of time, it was already empty. The room next to it, the bar, still appeared to be fully stocked.</p><p>“We should check the rooms, all of them,” stated Alicia. “The guests had luggage; the minibars might be stocked. We go floor by floor, room by room. We’ll find something.”</p><p>“Let’s look down here,” her mother retorted. “I want you with me.”</p><p>“Ofelia, Elyza, and I’ll check the tower and we’ll meet back here before sunset.”</p><p>“No, I said no,” Madison replied curtly, annoyed at her daughter’s show of initiative.</p><p>“She can take care of herself,” Strand cut in, wanting to stay at the bar.</p><p>“I’ve been doing it half my life,” Alicia continued bitterly. “I’m sure I’ll be fine.”</p><p>The three women exited the room after that, without another look at Madison. The brunette could feel Elyza next to her, a comforting presence as usual. But she did not want to discuss the complicated relationship she had with her mother in front of Ofelia, and so they continued walking towards the tower stairs in silence.</p><p>The first few floors turned out to be empty, some of the doors were open and they did not notice any infected inside, but they could not enter most of them. Finally, on the 7<sup>th</sup> floor, Alicia spotted a housekeeping trolley full of supplies and, best of all, containing a master key. She was about to use it on the closest door, which sported a “Do not disturb” sign, when an infected rattled it. The young woman made her way to the next door, with a “Do not disturb” sign too on the doorknob, and knocked on it. A walker’s groan responded immediately. After another couple of tests, the women concluded that someone had marked the rooms containing walkers. That would make their exploration much easier, but they would have to get rid of them eventually if they wanted to stay longer.</p><p>They eventually found a couple of rooms on the 8<sup>th</sup> floor that were unoccupied but contained some abandoned luggage full of clothes. In one of them, the body of a man who had hanged himself in the shower, and was now trapped made Alicia shiver. Ofelia could only stare at him blankly, so Elyza stabbed him without a word, before looking at the younger brunette with concern.</p><p>“Are you okay, Love?” she asked.</p><p>“Why do you think he gave up?” Alicia replied. “I’d have tried maybe 50 different things before I’d have—“</p><p>“Maybe he was tired,” Ofelia interrupted. “Tired of surviving.”</p><p>“You don’t get tired of surviving,” the young woman said, shrugging. “You just push on. You got to.”</p><p>After noticing that there was still hot water, the women each chose a room and went to take a shower. Feeling refreshed, Alicia dressed up in some of the clothes they had found in the rooms. With her hair still damp, she was looking around for more food when she heard a ruckus coming from outside. Someone was playing the piano or betting the keys with a hammer, she couldn’t tell. She stepped on the balcony to see try to see where the noise was coming from but quickly jumped back at the sight of a walker falling all the way to the ground from a higher floor. Approaching the railing carefully, she noticed several dead on other balconies, attracted by the noise, eventually falling over and to the ground, before standing up again and making their way toward the bar.</p><p>The young brunette ran to the corridor, calling her companions, but nobody answered. Decided to go back to the bar and warn her mother, she pushed the door leading to the stairs wide open, before freezing at the sight of a group of walkers slowly turning towards her. She was desperately trying to close it again when Elyza appeared at her side, stabbed the closest corpse in the head, and dragged her into another corridor. With the stairs overrun, their only option seemed to be the elevator shaft. After forcing the doors open, the two women noticed that the elevator was thankfully above their level, meaning they could use the cables to go down. Elyza tightly wrapped both their hands with some fabric she had ripped from her shirt so they wouldn’t hurt themselves, and she jumped. Hanging onto the cable with both hands, she showed Alicia how to place her legs and hands so she would not tire herself.</p><p>“Don’t worry, Love,” she added with a smile, “I’ll catch you if you fall.”</p><p>The two women slowly made their way down, meter by meter. When her feet finally touched the ground, Alicia was exhausted, her arms shaking.</p><p>“Hey, you did it, Licia,” the blonde told her gently. “I’ll make a soldier out of you in no time.”</p><p>The brunette was too tired to argue that her noodle arms begged to differ, but she felt proud of her accomplishment. Now, they needed to find Strand and her mom, hopefully before the walkers got to them.</p><p>After carefully opening the shaft doors, Elyza killed the walker that was shuffling by on his own. Alicia could not hide a grimace when the blonde tore the man’s stomach open and started smudging blood all over herself.</p><p>“Sorry, Love, I know it’s disgusting, but I’m borrowing a page from your brother’s playbook. That’s the only way we're going to make it back to the others safely.”</p><p>Knowing the older woman was right, Alicia sighed at the thought that had showered less than an hour before, and got to work. Once the two of them were covered in enough blood and guts they looked like roadkill, they slowly walked toward the bar. The piano had been quiet for a while, and Alicia could only hope that they were not too late.</p><p>The bar was still full of walkers, whom several were now lying on the floor, permanently dead. The two girls looked around for a few minutes, but apart from the signs of a struggle and the dead bodies, they found no sign of Madison and Strand. Somewhat relieved, they decided to explore another room and Elyza slowly opened the kitchen door. She was peeking inside when a blade came flying toward her left eye.</p>
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<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter 12</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Elyza barely had time to tilt her head to avoid the knife, and she felt it graze her left temple.</p><p>“Ow!” she shouted. “What the hell?!”</p><p>She saw the eyes of the woman who had tried to stab her open comically wide, her jaw dropped in surprise.</p><p>“Shit! Sorry,” the stranger said, lowering her weapon. “I thought you were one of the gnawers.”</p><p>Looking past the woman’s shoulder, Elyza spotted a middle-aged woman, a man in his thirties sporting a beard and a ponytail, and to her relief, Madison and Strand. She felt Alicia push past her and watched as the younger brunette hugged her mother.</p><p>“We thought you were dead,” the young woman said weakly. “I heard the piano, and we saw walkers fall from the balconies. How did you escape the bar?”</p><p>“We had help,” her mother replied, pointing at the three people beside them.</p><p>“My name is Elena,” the older of the two women offered. “I used to manage this hotel before many of our guests turned. This is my nephew, Hector,” she continued pointing at the man, “and this is Raven, who has been working here for a few years.”</p><p>“Raven Reyes,” the black-haired woman said, waving slightly. “In charge of maintenance, and mechanical genius. You can thank me later for the hot water and the electricity still running.”</p><p>Elyza took a minute to look at her. Her demeanor and speech seemed to indicate a brazen and impulsive character, but she could detect a glimmer of intelligence in the dark brown eyes. With her lean figure and her black hair tied in a ponytail, she was also rather pretty. In different circumstances, the blonde would probably have tried to hit on her, but now all she could think of was the green-eyed brunette facing her with a raised eyebrow.</p><p>The ex-manager, Elena, explained to the group how her hotel had been overrun by walkers after some of the guests had died during a wedding party. She, her nephew, Raven, and a few of the remaining guests had since brokered an uneasy alliance and tried to reclaim the complex. Elena and Hector were the ones who had managed to trap some of the dead inside guest rooms, while Raven was keeping the place running, and the other guests contributed as much as they could.</p><p>After exiting the kitchen through a back way that thankfully wasn’t crawling with walkers, Elena led the group back to the 10<sup>th</sup> floor of the hotel, where they would meet the rest of the survivors. Clearing the stairs took some time, but with now seven people armed with knives and stakes, and with Elyza at its forefront, the group did so without incidents.</p><p>Once they made it to the 10<sup>th</sup> floor, Madison, Strand, Alicia, and Elyza introduced themselves to the former hotel guests. About a dozen of them had managed to escape the wedding or had been hidden in their room when things had taken a gruesome turn a few weeks before. As Elena had said, all of them had since been trying to reclaim the hotel, but the large number of dead and their lack of weapons had made it difficult. If they all wanted to stay, they had to find a way to clear the infected once and for all. On the plus side, the shops around the hotel and the small towns nearby contained enough food to last for a long time, and Raven had managed to build a water purifier that could supply enough potable water for all of them.</p><p>After an uneasy night, the hotel occupants gathered again to discuss ways to eliminate all the dead and to strengthen their position. They all easily agreed on patrols around the perimeter, supply runs to nearby towns to gather all the food that they could find before someone else did, and menial tasks such as laundry and cleaning. The matter of the infected was a more complex issue. They didn’t have a lot of weapons at their disposal, and most of the hotel guests lacked experience dealing with them, as they had spent most of their time hiding in their rooms since the beginning of the outbreak.</p><p>Once the lunch break was over, Elyza and Alicia, tired of the fruitless discussions and the stuffy atmosphere, chose to go on patrol and look for Ofelia. They checked all the rooms on the 8<sup>th</sup> floor where they had last seen the woman, as well as the staircase and the floors above and below, in case she had been bitten and was now roaming around. But they didn’t find any traces of their companion or her belongings. They were looking for her around the main entrance when Hector found them and informed them that a car was missing. As no other guest had gone on a supply run, it seemed like Ofelia had taken off on her own at some point without informing anyone.</p><p>After learning that the woman she had thought her friend had left without even saying goodbye, Alicia, clearly upset, stepped onto the beach and walked towards the water in silence. Elyza, not sure how to comfort the younger girl, followed her at a close distance.</p><p>“I can’t believe she would do that,” she heard the brunette say after a while. “After everything we’ve been through, she abandoned us, just like that. I knew she was broken after her dad’s death, but still. How could she give up on us?”</p><p>The tears were pooling in the emerald eyes, rolling slowly down the girl’s high cheekbones. Elyza sighed quietly, and put a comforting hand onto the girl’s right shoulder, anchoring her.</p><p>“I know, Love. I know. Maybe she left because she needs to find her own reason to live?”</p><p>“I liked what you said yesterday,” she continued after a pause, sensing that the younger woman wasn’t ready to talk again, though she was looking at her intensely. “About how we must push on and survive. But maybe life should be about more than just surviving?”</p><p>“Don’t we deserve better than that?” she added as an afterthought, more to herself than anything.</p><p>“Maybe we do,” the brunette whispered back, her eyes glued to the blonde’s lips.</p><p>Elyza raised a brow in surprise, but she didn’t move or stop the brunette when she came closer, so close that they were now facing each other, merely a few inches between them. She could feel Alicia’s breath upon her, warm and fast-paced. The young woman was looking at her hesitantly, her eyes moving up and down, from her blue eyes to her lips, as if silently asking Elyza to act and close the distance between their mouths. The blonde bit her own lip gently but forced herself to stay still. She had kissed the brunette twice already, and she knew deep down that this time, it had to come from the girl. The seconds ticked away, and the older woman was starting to think that maybe she should say something or move back and give the girl an out when Alicia gently put her right hand on her cheek. She saw the girl swallow nervously, a pink tongue wetting pouty lips, and then nothing.</p><p>At the feeling of the brunette’s lips on her, her eyes closed tightly of their own accord, explosions appearing under her eyelids. Kissing the brunette had been amazing, even more so the second time when she had eagerly responded and they had gotten a little carried away, but nothing had prepared her for the out-of-body experience that was being kissed by Alicia. Her breath hitched and her legs wobbled as all the nerves in her body seemed to flare up at the same time. She would probably have disconnected their lips by accident, if not for the hand that was gently caressing the side of her face, keeping her tethered to reality. When the brunette’s mouth left her own, a whimper of displeasure escaped the blonde’s throat and brought a tender smile to the other girl’s lips. But the brunette apparently wasn’t done yet, as she angled her head differently, brushing their noses together, and connected their mouths once again. This time, Elyza was ready, and she responded fervently. Mirroring the girl’s actions, she cradled her face with one hand, the other finding its way onto her hip. Lips and tongues continued to meet for another few minutes before breathing became a necessity, and the panting women reluctantly separated, smiling at each other.</p><p>Elyza thought the brunette had never looked so beautiful, lips kiss-swollen, eyes shining in the sunlight, waves of brown hair freely floating in the wind. They turned to look at the ocean, enjoying the peaceful sound of the waves, their hands clasped together. The blonde was about to bring their bodies closer one more time when she saw Alicia tilt her head, looking at the pier.</p><p>“I think I have an idea about how to get rid of the dead,” the girl announced with a bright smile.</p>
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<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Chapter 13</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>TW: some description of violence and the explanation for Elyza's PTSD towards the end of the chapter</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Alicia was worried that Elyza would dismiss her plan, or that her mother would refuse to listen to her, but she managed to convince everyone surprisingly quickly. Instead of killing all the walkers one by one, they simply needed to lead them all onto the pier and into the water, and the rip current would carry them away. In theory, at least. The tricky part was the timing, they had to gather as many dead as possible before moving to the pier. Whoever was luring the walkers would have to jump a good 30 feet into the ocean before being picked up by Hector on an inflatable boat. Elyza, of course, volunteered to be the bait. The brunette was not thrilled, selfishly she wanted her companion, friend — girlfriend? what were they now? — to be safe. But she also could not deny that the blonde had the highest chance among them of making it out alive.</p><p>The rest of the group divided the floors and buildings between them, trying to estimate how long it would take each person to make it to the central area without crossing paths with someone else. The planning and test runs took the rest of the day, and they all agreed to put things in motion the next morning, during the ebb tide.</p><p>After dinner, the survivors returned to the different rooms on the 9<sup>th</sup> and 10<sup>th</sup> floor that had already been emptied. Madison had tried to convince Alicia to share a suite with her, but the young woman had pointed out that they had enough empty rooms for all of them. She was not ready to share one with Elyza, especially after the earlier kisses that had turned her head upside down, but she wanted some privacy to gather her thoughts. However, as soon as her head touched the pillow, she felt her eyelid grow heavy, the emotions of the day catching up to her, and she fell into a dreamless sleep.</p><p>The following morning, after a light breakfast, all the hotel inhabitants got ready. Equipped with pots, spoons, and various objects they could use to make noise, they took their respective positions. Starting from the top floors of the hotel and slowly making their way downstairs, they managed to gather around 100 infected. About 30 minutes after the beginning of the operation, Elyza began leading the herd down the pier. The others stood quietly to the side, taking care of the few stragglers, but thankfully the vast majority followed the metallic sounds from the pots the blonde was enthusiastically banging together. Seeing that everything looked like it was working according to plan, Alicia joined Hector on the beach and hopped on the boat. They had barely enough time to reach the end of the pier before they saw Elyza throw her utensils and dive right into the ocean, head first.</p><p><em>Show off</em>, Alicia thought, shaking her head with a smile.</p><p>The walkers were already starting to fall into the water when the blonde emerged, a few feet away from them. The brunette grabbed one of her hands and helped her haul herself onto the boat, before passing a towel to the woman. Seeing that they were still pretty far from the shore and that the others would not have a clear view; she kissed the blonde lightly. And if Hector noticed, he did not say anything about it.</p><p>“You know,” Elyza began saying, “now that the hotel is clear and that we are probably going to stay put for a while, I was thinking that maybe I should start training you. I know you are pretty handy with your knife, but one can never be too careful or prepared.”</p><p>“I would love that,” the younger woman replied, smiling at the thought of spending more time with the blonde.</p><p>Once they made it back to shore, the group celebrated the success of their operation and started talking about what they could do next to improve their stay. Raven seemed to have many ideas and pet projects, although some of them, like landmines, raised a few eyebrows.</p><p>Elyza and Alicia opted to retire into one of the rooms to nap, discreetly escaping Madison’s watchful eye. After a few minutes of intense make-out, the two women fell asleep, the blonde holding the brunette in a comfortable embrace. They had been sleeping for about 30 minutes when the older woman suddenly started to whimper, a look of pain on her face.</p><p>“Lyza! Hey, Lyza, it’s okay,” the brunette said, trying to wake her up gently. “It’s just a bad dream.”</p><p>The blonde sighed and rolled onto her back, tears pooling in the blue eyes.</p><p>“I know it was, but they always seem so real,” she replied, her voice broken.</p><p>“Do you wanna talk about it?”</p><p>The room stayed silent for a few minutes. Alicia was thinking that maybe it was not a good idea, that her companion was not ready, when she heard her sigh again.</p><p>“You remember how I told you that I was in the Australian Army before, right? As a medic?” The brunette nodded quietly.</p><p>“So, I did my first tour in Afghanistan 2 years ago, and everything went fine,” the blonde continued, her raspy voice heavier than usual. “I mean, it was still war, of course, blood and all, but I made it out okay.”</p><p>“But last year, during my second tour, in Syria this time, things went awry. My entire unit got captured, those of us who were still alive at least. They brought us to a compound, somewhere in the desert, and kept us there for weeks. They—they tortured us, killed my friends one by one—”</p><p>Alicia could see the tears starting to roll down on the blonde’s face, and she started to caress her hair in a soothing motion.</p><p>“Hey, it’s okay. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. But I’m here, I’m not going anywhere, and you are safe.”</p><p>“Thanks,” the blonde sniffled. “I want to tell you, though. I need to tell you; I need you to know.”</p><p>“So, as I was saying,” she continued after a minute, “they tortured us, killed my friends one by one, and made us watch. I think they were trying to get a ransom but our Government refused, so they got pissed off. You saw some of the scars on my back, that’s where they’re from. After a couple of weeks, there were only a few of us left, starving and injured, and they told us that they were going to execute us all and film it. That it would make a nice message of encouragement for their brothers. We knew we didn’t have anything to lose, so that night, we escaped. We managed to kill one of our jailers and stole the keys. Our lieutenant provided a distraction while the rest of us made it to their weapon room. After that, it was total chaos. We were shooting in all directions, throwing grenades — I lost three more friends that night, plus our lieutenant, but we overpowered them. We killed everyone in that complex. The men, but also their wives and a few children who were staying there. We only realized afterward that they had been trapped by the fires. Their blood is on my hands, Alicia; some of them were innocent. I am supposed to be a doctor, but I killed so many people that night, and now their faces haunt me in my dreams,” Elyza finished, crying.</p><p>The brunette felt her heart ache at the sight of the blonde, so turn apart by the guilt and the terrible memories of what had been done to her. Wiping the tears from her own cheeks, she cradled the woman tenderly, pulling the blonde’s head onto her shoulder, her right hand massaging the back of the woman’s neck, her left hand holding onto a forearm.</p><p>“Shh, it’s okay. You’re okay. You did what you had to, Elyza. They were going to kill you; you had no other choice.”</p><p>“You don’t think I’m a monster?” her companion asked, her voice sounding tiny and afraid in the dark room.</p><p>“No, of course not. If you were a monster, you wouldn’t feel guilt or pain. Something terrible happened to you, and you did the best you could in that situation. And I am, so, so grateful that you are alive.”</p><p>The blonde did not reply anymore, she merely nuzzled her face into the brunette’s neck and her breathing slowly returned to normal.</p><p>A few hours later, after they had joined the others for dinner and shared a few laughs, it was time for the two women to separate again. Alicia returned to her room and promptly changed into looser clothes to sleep. She sat on her bed, thinking about the afternoon and the blonde’s confession. She had sounded so sad, miles away from her usual courage and reassuring attitude. Shaking her head slightly, the brunette stood up and went to knock on the door next to hers.</p><p>Elyza creaked her door open, a look of surprise on her face. After admitting what she had done, she was clearly not expecting the younger woman to want to come anywhere near her, least of all alone. Feeling her heart tear once again at that thought, Alicia gently pushed her way into the room. Not saying a word, she took the blonde by the hand and pulled her to the bed. They lay down next to each other until the brunette opened her arms, compassion written all over her perfect features. Elyza let a wet chuckle escape, and nuzzled herself back into the warm embrace, half lying on the younger woman, their legs and fingers intertwined.</p><p>Alicia spent hours that night looking at the woman in her arms, caressing the hair that appeared almost white with the moonlight. The Australian had gotten under her skin so quickly and completely, it felt like she had always been there. Like a part of her had been missing and she had not realized it until she had gotten it back. The girl still was not sure how to deal with the ramifications of her growing feelings, but she knew that, at that moment, watching over her strong, vulnerable companion, she had never been so at peace.</p>
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<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Chapter 14</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sexy time</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Elyza dodged an elbow aimed at her nose and slid behind her opponent. With her right hand, she grabbed the arm still extended, while her left arm encircled the other woman’s throat, trapping her into an armlock. After a few seconds of struggle, her opponent tapped on her forearm three times, conceding defeat. The blonde immediately released the younger woman, a smirk on her face.</p><p>“Not bad, Love. You almost got me this time.”</p><p>Now that the hotel was walker-free, things had been pretty quiet for a couple of months. The different groups had been working together to fortify their position and gather all the supplies they could find. Thanks to Raven, they had some electricity and, more importantly, potable water.</p><p>Taking advantage of the situation, Elyza had kept her word and started training the brunette. In the morning, they would go for a jog and then compete against each other in series of sit-ups, push-ups, pull-ups, and other core exercises. In the afternoon, the blonde was teaching her hand-to-hand combat and how to wield a knife more efficiently. Now, she was also training her with a staff, sharpened on both sides. Alicia had had reservations about it at first, but once the blonde had explained that it would allow her to stab walkers or bash in their skulls from a safer distance, she had agreed.</p><p>The relationship between them was growing stronger with each passing day. They spend most of their time together, training, patrolling, or relaxing, and they were turning into a well-oiled machine. Their make-out sessions had also become more intense, the thrill of secrecy adding to the excitement. Alicia was spending most of her nights by the blonde’s side, sneaking into her room when the others were asleep, and Elyza couldn’t deny that she had had fewer and fewer nightmares recently.</p><p>One afternoon, the two women volunteered to go for a supply run. Most of the small towns nearby had already been emptied, but there were still a few places not too far from the hotel that they hadn’t visited. After riding a car for about 45 minutes, they parked on the main road of a deserted little town and started exploring. The pharmacy and the local grocer’s shop were empty, save for a few packs of Band-Aids that had been hidden between two shelves, but they found some batteries and tools in one of the houses. They easily disposed of the few walkers that had been trapped in the shops, Alicia’s staff proving to be a very effective weapon.</p><p>After an hour in town, the two women decided to call it quits and to return to the hotel. Elyza was exiting a small library, when suddenly a bookshelf fell on her, trapping her upper body. A dead woman had come out of a corner she hadn’t seen and had accidentally pushed the shelf trying to get closer to the blonde. One arm missing, her clothes ripped in several places, she was approaching the Australian with her jaws open threateningly, several teeth rotten or gone.</p><p>“Shit! Alicia, help!”</p><p>With her arms pinned down, the blonde had no other choice but to kick the walker to keep her away. When the dead woman suddenly fell, Elyza aimed her combat boots at her face, hoping that the sole would be strong enough to break the skull. She felt the nose break, and a few more teeth got knocked out, but the walker wouldn’t stop trying to grab and bite her. On her third kick, Elyza felt the woman catch her lower leg, fingers digging into her skin, and strong jaws closed on her ankle.</p><p>“Elyza! No!” she heard before the brunette jumped over the shelf and thrust her staff at the back of the woman’s head.</p><p>“Oh my God, Elyza, are you okay? Did she bite you?”</p><p>The blonde grunted in response, pushing the shelf away from her body with her companion’s help. She removed her boot and checked her ankle, no blood in sight.</p><p>“No, I’m good,” she replied with a big sigh of relief.</p><p>“My boot, however—” she continued, showing the boot with the clear teeth indentation at the ankle.</p><p>The brunette chuckled wetly, tears starting to roll down her face.</p><p>“You lucky idiot! I thought—come on, let’s go. I don’t want to stay here another minute.”</p><p>They made the trip back in uncomfortable silence. Elyza could still feel the adrenaline pumping in her veins. It had been a close call. Too close. The brunette next to her seemed to still be in shock, her jaw was tense, her eyes obstinately looking outside, her fists clenched so hard the knuckles were white.</p><p>Once they arrived at the hotel, Alicia jumped out of the car and headed towards the main building. Elyza, unsure what to do, dragged herself back to her room, not feeling particularly hungry. After a warm shower to help her muscles relax, she sat on the bed, her emotions all over the place. Did Alicia realise that she had almost lost her today and freak out? Was she reconsidering whatever was happening between them because of the risks? The blonde tried to push back her tears. Meeting the brunette had been the best thing that had happened to her since the beginning of this epidemic — since forever if she was being honest — and she was not ready to give up without a fight. She stood up, walking decisively towards the door when it opened, revealing the younger woman.</p><p>“Alicia,” she said, surprised. “I was on my way to you. Look, I know today was scary, but—”</p><p>Before she could say another word, the brunette crashed their lips together, her hands firmly catching the blonde’s face. The kiss was nothing like all the others they had exchanged. It wasn’t sweet, or gentle, or tentative. All the pent-up emotions of the last few months were poured into a battle of dominance full of tongues and teeth.</p><p>Instinctively, Elyza pinned the younger woman against the door, making her moan in the most delicious way. The blonde started exploring the body flushed against hers, the soft and yet strong curves, the stomach muscles that were tensing rhythmically under her fingers. One of her hands slowly followed the skin up, pushing the T-shirt out of the way until it reached the girl’s bra, the aroused nipples poking through the fabric. She rubbed her thumb over and around one, her mouth finding the skin of the neck and nipping softly. She barely felt the brunette reach behind her back and open the clasp, but as soon as the piece of clothing loosened, the blonde’s hand sneaked under it to knead the soft, supple skin. One of Elyza’s strong thighs slipped in between the brunette’s legs, and pressed against her hot center, making the girl’s hips rock uncontrollably in search of some kind of relief. The blonde felt strong hands pulling at her mane, guiding her lower until she came face to face with a pink nipple. She didn’t hesitate before sticking out her tongue, wetting the nub before putting it in her mouth and biting it very gently.</p><p>“Oh God,” she heard Alicia breathe out, her head banging against the door at the intense sensation.</p><p>“Hey, Alicia, look at me,” she said, releasing the stiffened bud with a pop. “Maybe we should slow down. Today was intense, it’s okay if you’re not rea—”</p><p>“I am,” the girl interrupted. “I—I want this. I need it, I need to feel you. Please.”</p><p>Nodding slowly, Elyza caught the woman by the waistband and gently pulled her towards the bed. Standing there, face to face, she lifted her shirt above her head before dropping it unceremoniously on the floor. She grabbed the helm of the brunette’s T-shirt, “Is this okay?”</p><p>When the girl smiled and lifted her arms, she slowly peeled it off, their pants and bras following shortly after. Half-naked, the younger woman lay down on the bed first, her chestnut hair forming a halo around her head. Elyza moved on top of her, careful not to apply too much weight, blue eyes staring right into the green ones she had come to adore.</p><p>“If it becomes too much, or if there is anything that you don’t like, tell me to stop, okay?”</p><p>The brunette nodded once before capturing her lips one more time. Supporting herself with her right arm, the blonde resumed her exploration of the girl’s body. She caressed the nipples for a few minutes, before replacing her hand with her mouth, lavishing the breasts with soft kisses and very gentle bites. Going lower and lower, she finally reached the black panties, one of her fingers hooked under the hem.</p><p>“Is this still okay?”</p><p>Once again, the panting brunette nodded in permission. Elyza took her time removing the last article of clothing, admiring the gorgeous body beneath her. Lying against her again, she slowly caressed the thighs for a moment before bringing her hand to the heat coming from the girl’s centre. She collected some wetness, holding in a moan at the sensation, and applied it gently onto the nub that was already poking out. She could feel the other woman shudder against her, her hips starting to roll in harmony with the fingers, soft whimpers coming out of the pouty lips at regular intervals.</p><p>Hoping to make the experience even more unforgettable for the brunette, Elyza lowered her hand again, a finger stopping at the entrance, waiting.</p><p>“Please,” Alicia breathed out, subconsciously opening her legs more to accommodate the inquisitive hand. “I want you.”</p><p>It was all the confirmation the blonde needed, and she slowly entered her lover, nearly coming herself at the sensation of the tight warm walls already fluttering. She started a slow in-and-out rhythm, paying careful attention to the brunette’s face to detect any sign of discomfort. But all she could see was the expression of her impending orgasm; her mouth open and panting, her eyes shut close, her fists holding the sheets tightly, a few beads of sweat rolling down her forehead. When her hips began to jerk upwards and her walls tightened more, the blonde brought her thumb back onto the girl’s clit and her mouth to the closest nipple. The beautiful long moan that followed would forever stay in her memory. Alicia’s entire body tensed, her walls clamping the finger, her head thrown back, and her neck taut, before she went completely limp against the mattress.</p><p>Elyza carefully removed her finger and wiped it on the sheets before caressing the girl’s face.</p><p>“Are you all right, Love? Did I hurt you?”</p><p>“No. You were perfect. It was—it was amazing.”</p><p>Smiling so hard her cheeks hurt, the blonde lay next to the girl, one arm draped around her waist. She felt as if she had just run a marathon, her heart pounding in her chest, her panty thoroughly soaked.</p><p>“Give me a minute to recover—” Alicia started, yawning.</p><p>“Shh. It’s okay, Love. You can rest. I’m not going anywhere, we have time.”</p>
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<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Chapter 15</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Alicia woke up the next morning with a smile on her face, her body slightly sore from the activities of the previous night. Turning slowly, she noticed that the blonde behind her was still sleeping peacefully, her gorgeous breast on display. Her cheeks flushed slightly at the sight, but she could not tear her eyes away.</p><p>“You’re staring, Love,” Elyza said, her voice raspier than usual.</p><p><br/>“I get it, though,” she added with a smirk, “they are pretty amazing to look at.”</p><p><br/>“That they are,” the younger woman replied playfully, before leaning to kiss her, a shy hand experimentally cupping a breast.</p><p><br/>Moving on top of the blonde, Alicia began exploring her lover’s body with her mouth, kissing the lips, the jaw, then the neck, her hand still gently kneading the gorgeous mounds.</p><p><br/>“Feels good,” the woman beneath her breathed out, turning her face to the side to allow better access to her neck, her fingers lost in chestnut locks.</p><p><br/>The brunette continued her path downwards, kissing a shoulder, a collarbone, the upper part of her breasts. She was about to close in on her protruding pink target when someone knocked on the door.</p><p><br/>“Elyza?” they could recognize Madison’s voice. “Are you there? We need you, there is a situation at the front gate.”</p><p><br/>Sighing at the interruption, the two women dressed up quickly. Alicia had hoped her mother was already downstairs and that she would be spared the walk of shame, but no such luck. The older blonde was leaning against the wall across from the door, waiting for the medic. In another situation, the look on her face when she saw them both exiting Elyza’s bedroom, hair mussed and a few hickeys on display, would probably have made her laugh. That morning, however, her cheeks reddening, she prayed for the floor to open and swallow her all. Thankfully, they had more pressing concerns to deal with, but the girl knew that she would eventually be in for a very awkward conversation.</p><p><br/>The situation at the front door turned out to be a group of survivors asking for help. There were a dozen Mexicans, with one pregnant woman, and three Americans. After a stormy discussion and a vote, the hotel inhabitants agreed to let them all in. It took Elyza and Alicia most of the morning to inspect the newcomers, offering them water and some food and making sure that no one had been bitten.</p><p><br/>Although Alicia’s Spanish was good enough to strike a conversation with the Mexicans, she naturally gravitated toward the three Americans. They introduced themselves as Octavia Blake, her brother Bellamy, and Lincoln Forrester, Octavia’s boyfriend. They had apparently been on a vacation with the siblings’ parents and some friends when the epidemic had started. Octavia and Lincoln, both police officers, had been lucky enough to find some guns and survive, but the three of them were all that was left of their initial group.</p><p><br/>Once everybody was cleared out and assigned rooms, Alicia returned to the 10th floor to change for her daily training session. Exiting the staircase, she realized that her mother and Elyza were in the middle of an argument, and hid behind a corner.</p><p><br/>“My daughter is not one of your army buddies. She doesn’t need to learn all of this.”</p><p><br/>“I am giving her the tools she needs to survive. Whether she uses them or not is up to her, but I don’t want her to die because she doesn’t know how to defend herself.”</p><p><br/>“I am her mother, it’s my job to protect her,” Madison scoffed.</p><p><br/>“Correct me if I’m wrong, but every time she has been in danger those past few months, I am the one who saved her, while you were busy looking for Nick, or Travis, or doing God knows what. She is smart and stronger than you realize. You are just upset because she doesn’t need you anymore.”</p><p><br/>“No, I am upset because my daughter is barely 18, much younger than you, and you are trying to take advantage of her. You need to leave; she would be better off!”</p><p><br/>“You know what,” Elyza sighed in response, “you are right. I am older than her and pretty messed up. I have killed people during my time in the Army, and Alicia knows about it. So yeah, if we were still living in the old world, she would be better off without me. But we aren’t. And in this reality, she is safer than she’ll ever be when she’s by my side. You don’t have to like me, but you know that I would do anything to protect her. And that includes teaching her how to fight.”</p><p><br/>“I love her, Madison,” she added shortly after, “I love her, and unless <em>she</em> tells me to leave, I won’t.”</p><p><br/>Her mother seemed to somewhat deflate at that last statement, but before she could verbally attack the younger blonde again, Alicia stepped out of the corner. She had not been sure what she wanted to say or do at first, but the look of sadness on Elyza’s face helped her decide. After taking a long inhalation, she walked to her lover and kissed her gently on the lips.</p><p><br/>“Shh, it’s okay,” she said, looking at a very surprised Elyza. “I’ll meet you in our room.”</p><p><br/>The blonde could only nod, speechless, and left the corridor. Alicia turned back, ignoring her mother, and made her way to her now former room. Once she was there, she grabbed a backpack and started packing her things.</p><p>“Baby, what are you doing? And what was that outside?” the older blonde asked, anger clear in her voice.</p><p><br/>Sighing, the brunette forced herself to face her mother, bag hanging from a shoulder, an intimidating look on her face.</p><p><br/>“I need you to lay off Elyza,” she replied, staring into her mother’s eyes. “She has done nothing but help us, and you keep treating her poorly.”</p><p><br/>“That’s not true, it’s just—”</p><p><br/>“It’s just that you don’t want me near her. I know Mom, but that’s not your call to make. I am an adult now, and I have been taking care of myself for much longer than I should have had to.”</p><p><br/>Her mother had the decency to look ashamed at that last comment.</p><p><br/>“Besides, if you gave her a chance, you’d realize how amazing she is.”</p><p><br/>With things finally out in the open, the young woman pushed past her mother, heading toward the blonde’s room. Before the other woman tried to stop her or say something more, the brunette looked over her shoulder and continued, “I hope you’ll change your mind about this. I don’t want to fight with you, but I won’t let you insinuate that my girlfriend is taking advantage of me either. If anything, it’s the opposite. She empowers me, she is training me so that I don’t have to depend on her. You should thank her, really.”</p><p><br/>Seeing that Madison was lost in thoughts, the brunette shrugged, knocked on the door in front of her, and entered. Her blonde companion stepped next to her right away, taking the bag out of her hands and putting it on the side, her eyes full of questions and apprehension.</p><p><br/>“You are anything but messed up,” Alicia told her gently, a hand cradling her face. “You are the bravest, most amazing person I have ever met.”</p><p><br/>“And I love you too,” she added after a beat, the corners of her mouth turning upward. “I love you, Elyza.”</p><p><br/>She barely had time to hear the sigh that left her girlfriend’s lips before a mouth came crashing onto hers. And yet, the kiss that followed was slow and deep. Not a fight for dominance or unchecked passion like the night before, but the promise of something much more meaningful. Alicia did not mention the salty taste of the lips moving against hers, but that afternoon, despite her nervousness, she tried her best to show her girlfriend how much she loved her. And if Elyza’s moans and expletives were any indications, she probably succeeded.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Chapter 16</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>TW: bit of violence, it's a zombie apocalypse after all!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Elyza ran towards the wall surrounding the hotel at full speed, her favourite knife in her hands, her legs already protesting at the extra effort required to run on the sand. But by the time she could see the entrance, it was too late. The metallic gate was ajar, the dead already swarming inside. What the hell had happened? Things had been amazing for the past few weeks, especially since Alicia had moved in with her, how could things have gone downhill so quickly? How did they not see this herd come? There must have been at least 200 hundred infected, and yet, based on the screams of panic that she could hear coming from the hotel complex, the guests had been taken by surprise.</p><p>Realising that she would not be able to make it through the gate, Elyza had no other choice but to look for another access point. Remembering the many patrols she had gone on with her girlfriend, she headed to the west side of the wall, where she knew she would find a tree close enough to allow her to jump inside. Putting the knife back in its sheath, she hauled herself onto the lowest branch and started climbing. About 10 feet above the ground, she slowly crawled on a thick branch that overhangs the wall, hung off it, and let go. The soft grass below softened her landing, and after a roll, she got back on her feet, happy to see that she hadn’t hurt her ankles. Knife back in hand, she made her way towards the main building. She could see the walkers already inside, their mass threatening to swallow the complex. Some gunshots resonated to her left, and she spotted some of the wedding guests getting surrounded. Knowing that there was nothing she could do for them now, she jogged to the main lobby, praying that her favourite brunette was safely inside.</p><p>At the door, she was greeted by Lincoln and Bellamy, who were busy piling chairs and everything they could find to stop the walkers from entering.</p><p>“What the hell happened?” the blonde shouted, panting.</p><p>“Some idiots found guns and ammo a few days ago and decided that they needed to practice,” Octavia replied, clearly pissed. “We tried to tell them that it wasn’t a good idea, but they refused to listen.”</p><p>“So that’s what I heard earlier. But the herd must have already been around to make it here so quickly, I was barely gone an hour. How did we not see them? I thought we had someone on watch on the top floor?”</p><p>“Don’t ask me,” the brunette shrugged, “I’ve caught more than one of those wankers asleep when they shouldn’t have been.”</p><p>Shaking her head in discontentment, the blonde finally spotted her girlfriend coming her way, bags hanging from both shoulders, Strand and her mother in tow.</p><p>“Lyza, I’m so glad you’re all right,” she said, hugging her tightly. “I was so worried.”</p><p>“I’m okay, Love. I used the tree we saw before to jump over the wall. The front gate is completely overrun. Maybe half the herd was already inside when I arrived.”</p><p>“How are we going to get rid of them?” Madison asked. To her credit, the woman was barely shaking.</p><p>“We aren’t going to,” Elyza replied. “There are too many, we need to leave.”</p><p>“But this is our home now,” the older blonde argued. “We worked so hard to settle here.”</p><p>“Mom, we know, trust me. But there is nothing we can do. There are too many of them, and we already lost a lot of people. We have to leave.”</p><p>“And how are we going to do that?” Bellamy asked, joining the conversation. “Because in case you haven’t noticed, there are hundreds of dead between us and the exit.”</p><p>“The same way Elyza and I made it to the kitchen before, when the bar was full of infected. We kill a few, cover ourselves in blood, and walk quietly among them. My brother Nick did it a few times, it works.”</p><p>Their new friends seemed skeptical, but before they could argue, they overheard engine noises amid the growls and shouts. Walking towards a window, they saw Elena, Hector and some of the Mexicans that had joined them a few weeks before try to escape in a car. Unfortunately for them, they were stopped by the herd before they could make it to the gate. The group, powerless, watched the dead slowly tear the car apart, door by door, until the cries of the occupants couldn’t be heard anymore.</p><p>“Shit!” Elyza roared, tears in her eyes. “How are we gonna get past all of them? Even with blood on us, there are so many, it will only take a loud breath for them to catch us.”</p><p>“How about a distraction?” Alicia pensively suggested. “Raven? You still have what you need to make some dead go ‘boom’, right?”</p><p>“That would be a yes, my dear,” the black-haired woman replied. “But that won’t be enough to take all of those fuckers down.”</p><p>“We don’t need all of them down, we just have to make enough noise to attract them somewhere back of the hotel, so we can flee more safely.”</p><p>Lacking the time to discuss any other options, the eight remaining people agreed with Alicia’s suggestion. While Raven went to get an explosive device she had built in her spare time — everybody was planning on asking her when and why she had done that — Lincoln and Octavia caught a couple of walkers, and unceremoniously cut into their stomachs. Once they were all covered in sufficient amounts of blood and guts, the group opened the doors slowly to let Raven, Lincoln, and Elyza exit.</p><p>The three survivors sneaked to the back of the complex, careful not to attract any deadly attention. Thankfully for them, after having made their way in and devoured the rest of the hotel residents, the dead seemed to be roaming around aimlessly. Raven set her device behind a low building that had once been a bar, and set the timer to two minutes, giving them enough time to hide far enough that they wouldn’t be caught in the mass of walkers. After the explosion — Elyza, trying not to get trapped in her memories, had been pretty impressed at the magnitude of it — they were walking back to the main lobby when Raven suddenly tripped, letting out a rather colourful expletive. Before the Latina could get back on her feet, a large infected had turned his head towards her and started shuffling closer. The woman was about to scream in fear when a knife found its way into his temple, and he dropped to the ground.</p><p>“Are you okay Raven?” Elyza asked, wiping her knife on the man’s shirt.</p><p>“Yeah, thanks Blondie.”</p><p>After that, they managed to return to the rest of the group without any other incident. The vast majority of the herd had moved towards the back of the complex, leaving the front gate relatively free. The eight people, on the alert and weapons in hands, slowly headed to the exit. When they passed by what was left of the car and their ex-companions, a shudder came over all of them. Trying not to look inside, they continued their dangerous journey, until finally, they arrived at the metallic gate.</p><p>As if by an unspoken agreement, they all only started to breathe normally once they were at least 200 yards away from the complex. All the walkers seemed to have gone inside, and the surrounding area looked safe enough.</p><p>“What are we gonna do now?” Octavia asked, her hand holding on to Lincoln. “We have some supplies, but that’s not gonna last long.”</p><p>“I don’t know about you,” Elyza started, “but I’m tired of this goddamn country. It’s only getting hotter, so I suggest we find a car or two in the neighbouring town, head back north, cross the frontier and continue till we can walk without sweating by the gallon.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Chapter 17</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Alicia swerved at the last minute, avoiding the female walker that was standing on the road by less than a foot.</p><p>“Hey, easy there, Love!” Elyza scolded her, “I don’t want to have to clean the windshield again. Seriously, who taught you how to drive?”</p><p>“Well, my mom did, a little,” the brunette replied sheepishly. “I just need to practice, and since there is no traffic nowadays, it’s perfect.”</p><p>“That’s what you get for dating a kid,” Raven teased her from the backseat. “You need to teach them everything. Though from what I heard at the hotel, she is a great student.”</p><p>“What? Paper-thin walls you know,” she added with a shrug, before smirking when Alicia’s tiny ears turned bright red.</p><p>The group had been driving pretty much non-stop for two hours, leaving the hotel now swarming with infected behind. They had been lucky enough to find two cars with enough gas to leave Mexico and head back to the US. Madison, Strand, Bellamy, and Lincoln had agreed to share the first car while Alicia, Elyza, Raven, and Octavia were bonding in the second one. After a quick bathroom break by the side of the road, Alicia had offered to take the wheel from her girlfriend.</p><p>Not much later, they finally arrived at the border in Tijuana. The sight that greeted them served as a reminder of the horror movie their lives now were. What had once been the most transited port of entry in the world was completely silent and deserted. Hundreds of cars had been left in the middle of the road when the epidemic had begun and desperate people had been looking for a safe place to go to, forcing the group to continue on foot.</p><p>Walking slowly in a tight formation, weapons hot and ready, the eight survivors made their way to the imaginary line that separated the two countries. They had to put down a few walkers along the way, but most of those left were trapped in cars and did not pose a threat.</p><p>Once they were on US soil, the group continued its way on a large avenue, looking for a place where they could find supplies and spend the night. The local supermarket had probably been ransacked by now, but they decided to check it anyway, hoping that some cans of food had been overlooked or had rolled under the shelves. Lincoln and Octavia offered to keep watch, after Octavia had asked Raven to get her some tampons and condoms, making Bellamy grimace. After 20 minutes of pretty fruitless exploration, the 6 people went back to the exit, their faces discomfited at the prospect of sleeping on an empty stomach.</p><p>The journey into town was going well, when suddenly, at a corner, the group found itself face-to-face with a large gathering of dead. It was not clear what had attracted them there in the first place — an animal perhaps? — or why they had suddenly stopped, but as soon as they heard the gasps of surprise from the living, the walkers turned as one and started to approach.</p><p>The survivors took off, looking for a car or a building to hide, but they knew that if they could not put a reasonable distance between them and the dead, they would be stuck. They were all running on the street when a humvee came their way and stopped between them and the dead. A bearded giant of a man got out, knives in hands and rifle hanging at his side, his face turned toward the threat.</p><p>“Get in!” the woman behind the wheel shouted at the group, her almond eyes staring at them without blinking.</p><p>Their experiences had taught the ex-occupants of the Abigail to be wary of strangers, but between a potential human threat and the very real danger of the herd coming their way, they did not hesitate for too long. Most of the survivors piled themselves up in the Humvee, with Madison at the front, while Lincoln, Elyza, and the gigantic man sat on the tonneau.</p><p>“Who are you? And where are you taking us?” Madison asked, carefully eyeing the driver.</p><p>“We were part of the 1<sup>st</sup> Cavalry Division Ma’am,” the dirty-blond-haired woman replied. “As for where we are going, what is left of our division has an encampment not too far from here. Since it’s almost dark already, you’re welcome to spend the night at our camp, and in the morning, you can decide what you want to do.”</p><p>The journey to the soldiers’ camp took approximately 25 minutes. In the meantime, the survivors learned a little more about their saviors, 2<sup>nd</sup> Lieutenant Anya Pine and Sergeant Major Gustus Paunovic, and their group. They had lost contact with their commanding officers at the beginning of the epidemic and, since that, they had moved around, trying to kill the infected and help people as much as they could. Remembering their previous interactions with the military and the mayhem that had followed, Madison and Alicia remained wary, but the dirty-blonde woman did not seem to mind.</p><p>When they finally arrived at their destination, the eight people realized that the soldiers had established their camp in an old factory of a sort. They had reinforced all the windows on the first floor, as well as the front door, and people carrying rifles were visible on the roof. The group was introduced to the camp commanding officer, 1<sup>st</sup> Lieutenant Indra Porter, an African-American woman in her early forties with a scar on her left temple. She looked at all of them silently, her face emotionless, before letting them in and ordering a young woman, Corporal Tris Pine — Anya’s sister? Alicia pondered — to show them around and give them tents and food for the night.</p><p>After setting the two tents and putting what was left of their stuff inside, the women decided to take advantage of the factory’s showers, and each entered a small space separated by a shower curtain that reached up to their chins. The city water was not running anymore, but the soldiers had apparently found a way to transfer the water from an old cistern into the pipes. They had not found a way to warm it up, though, because it was positively freezing.</p><p>“<em>Puta madre</em>!” Raven shouted when the water hit her body, “I need to find a way to heat this water, or my amazing tits are gonna fall off!”</p><p>At the sound of something metallic hitting the floor, they all turned around and saw a grumbling Anya leaving the room, eyes looking at the ceiling, a snickering Tris in tow.</p><p>Once they were all cleaned up, the hotel survivors sat in the main area, where a young man, Private Artigas, brought them some food. It was not quite as tasty as what they had had at the hacienda, but considering that they had not eaten anything since the morning, the eight people did not leave much on their plates. They mostly stayed together, although Alicia spotted Octavia and Lincoln engrossed in a conversation with Indra. Considering how intense the young brunette could be, she was probably trying to find out if she had killed more or fewer walkers than the intimidating 1<sup>st</sup> lieutenant.</p><p>Alicia could feel herself starting to doze off, lulled by the voices around her and the warm body of her girlfriend against her left side. She was not looking forward to sharing a tent with her mother, Octavia, and Raven, but at least she would still be able to cuddle with Elyza. After sharing a bed for the last three weeks, she did not think she would manage to fall asleep without the reassuring weight of the blonde’s head on her chest, and she knew that the other woman had far fewer nightmares when she was in her arms.</p><p>After wishing good night to Strand, Bellamy, and the soldiers around, she was heading to the tent when the sight of a young man, with greasy shoulder-length brown hair and hand in hand with a Latina stopped her dead in her tracks.</p><p>“Nick?”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The 1st Cavalry Division is a real division based in Texas. I stumbled upon it while doing some research and writing the characters background, and I couldn't imagine Anya, Gustus and Indra being part of anything else. Though I doubt they ride horses on a daily basis, the division contains a horse cavalry detachment.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Chapter 18</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Alicia was standing there, eyebrows to her hairline in surprise. Her brother, whom she had not thought she would ever see again, was standing 20 feet from her, looking better than he had in a long time.</p><p>A few minutes later, they were all sitting in a circle again, Madison wiping a few tears of joy, Alicia smiling, her head leaning on Elyza’s shoulder, while Nick was relating what had happened to him during the three previous months.</p><p>After leaving the hacienda, he had wandered in the desert for a while and had almost died from dehydration. Half delirious, he had been roaming among the dead when the woman who was now his girlfriend, Luciana, rescued him and brought him to the community where she used to live. A few dozen people managed to build a wall around a few houses, and they used the walkers as a barrier between them and the rest of the world. They grew vegetables and collected some water from the rain for months, under the leadership of a pharmacist called Alejandro.</p><p>Unfortunately for them, they did not have enough water and supplies for everyone, so they made a deal with the armed gang that was controlling the supermarket nearby, exchanging medicine for what they needed. That agreement lasted a couple of months, but eventually, the gang members realized that they would be safer inside the community walls and they tried to take it by force.</p><p>They attacked one morning, making their way through the wall of walkers. Once inside, they killed many of the inhabitants, until Alejandro, dying from a wound, let all the walkers in. In the end, only Nick, Luciana, and a couple of other inhabitants made it out alive, after covering themselves with infected blood. The survivors had then decided to head north, hoping to have better luck near the border or back in the US, and the 1<sup>st</sup> Cavalry Division had picked them up near Tijuana a few days before.</p><p>The young man looked much better. He had gained a few pounds, his hair was somewhat trimmed, and she was surprised to hear him speak a little bit of Spanish with Luciana. The young woman seemed to have a positive influence on him. And on a more selfish note, the girl was glad that her mother would now have someone else to focus on. Seeing how the older woman was beaming at her son and suspiciously looking at his girlfriend, she and Elyza might finally have a reprieve.</p><p>The next few days went relatively seamlessly. The civilians did their best to help the soldiers reinforce the camp and improve the living conditions, and in exchange, they offered them protection and supplies. True to her word, Raven rapidly found a way to heat the water for the showers, which made her everybody’s new favorite person. A few men went out of their way during the first two days to offer their help, bring her more supplies, or carry her stuff, but the Latina seemingly ignored all the attention. They stopped smothering her after Anya made them run five miles around camp in silence, earning a smile and a wink from the sable-haired woman.</p><p>Elyza, Alicia, Octavia, and Lincoln put themselves at Indra’s disposal, and they were running patrols around the perimeter with the rest of the soldiers, Nick and Luciana. Bellamy stated that he was more of an “intellectual”, and made himself useful in the kitchen. Strand tried to talk his way out of doing chores, but after meeting Indra’s scowl, he agreed to help prepare meals as well.</p><p>Unsurprisingly, only Madison proved to be reluctant to stay. She did not trust the soldiers, and now that she had both her children back, she tried to push them to leave the camp and continue their journey. It took Nick and Alicia hours to convince her that, for the time being at least, it was in their best interest to stay. They had left most of their stuff at the hotel, and they could use some downtime to recover and devise a plan. Indra and Anya were strict, but they seemed fair. They did not ask from them more than they could offer, and their protection did not come at a cost other than helping with the chores. The only major inconvenience at the camp was the lack of privacy.</p><p>One afternoon, they were both thankfully free of chores, and Elyza led her to a deserted office on the third floor.</p><p>“Where are you taking me?” Alicia asked her.</p><p>“I thought we could enjoy our free afternoon. And since we share the tent with three other women, including your mother—”</p><p>“You found a secret office?” the brunette teased her with a smirk.</p><p>“Well, not so secret. I caught Tris coming out of it with Artigas in tow yesterday. But hopefully, no one will interrupt us while I kiss my beautiful girlfriend.”</p><p>With a glimmer in her green eyes, the younger woman grabbed her by the neck and brought their mouths together, swallowing Elyza’s moan. Not to be outdone, the blonde slowly backed them against the door and locked it swiftly. They battled for a few minutes, tongues exploring each other’s mouths, centers grinding against strong thighs. Knowing that they might not have a lot of time, Elyza bit her lover’s earlobe gently, using the distraction to pin her hands above her head.</p><p>“You are going to have to stay quiet, Love, can you do that for me?” she whispered into the brunette’s ear, eliciting a breathy moan, before kneeling in front of her with a smirk.</p><p>Making quick work of the girl’s pants and underwear, the blonde wasted no time in reconnecting her mouth with the glistening folds and the nub begging for her attention, one hand rhythmically squeezing a strong butt cheek. After a couple of minutes, she started caressing a shaking thigh with her other hand, slowly bringing it closer to her mouth. The brunette, already close to her climax, could only nod in permission before two fingers entered her. Alicia, pants down, T-shirt rolled under her armpits, one hand caressing her own breast, had to bite her knuckles to stifle the moan that left her throat when she came, nearly collapsing, her eyes staring into the deep blue ones below.</p><p>Slowly releasing the leg that had leaned on her shoulder, Elyza stood up to hold the brunette’s body upright and kiss her thoroughly.</p><p>“My turn,” Alicia practically growled after a minute, the green circle of her eyes almost entirely overtaken by the pupils.</p><p>After all the training they had done together, the younger woman was much stronger than before, and she easily switched their position, trapping the blonde’s body between hers and the door.</p><p>“Let’s see if <em>you</em> can stay quiet,” she said, smirking, before kissing the blonde with all she had and inserting two fingers in the welcoming heat, not even bothering to lower the woman’s shorts.</p><p>Elyza, already worked up, took an embarrassingly short amount of time to peak, and when a thumb pressed at her clit and Alicia nipped at her pulse point, she barely had enough time to bite on her lover’s shoulder to stifle her loud moan.</p><p>“You are getting very, very good at this,” she told the brunette with a laugh.</p><p>“What can I say?” the girl replied, poking her tongue out, “I’ve always been a straight-A student.”</p><p>The two lovers rejoined the group shortly after, hoping that nobody had noticed their absence. Madison was still luckily busy elsewhere, but Nick welcomed them with a raised eyebrow before smiling knowingly at them.</p><p>After dinner, the civilians and soldiers stayed together, sharing stories of their past around the indoor fire pit. Alicia was listening intently to some of Octavia and Lincoln’s stories when a head suddenly leaned on her thigh. With a tender smile, she started caressing the blond hair near her stomach while laughing at Lincoln who was explaining how he had once caught a car thief after he had stopped to ask him for directions.</p><p>Feeling Indra’s stare on her, she turned her head towards the woman sitting near her.</p><p>“She really seems to trust you,” the older woman gently said, her chin pointing at Elyza. “We’ve talked a little about her experience on the front. I have lost too many good men and women to traumas like hers. It’s a good thing she has you by her side.”</p><p>“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for her,” the brunette replied, her hand still lost in blond strands. “My mom wouldn’t be here. Raven would have died at the hotel. She has saved our lives more times than I can count, and she always has my back. She was the first person to treat me as an adult, she taught me how to survive and fight, instead of trying to shelter me from it all.”</p><p>“But at night,” she added after a beat, her eyes holding the other woman’s gaze, “when this strong, beautiful warrior is asleep, I am the one who holds her and keeps the monsters at bay.”</p><p>It might have been a flicker of the light, but Alicia could have sworn that, at that, she saw a smile on the stern 1<sup>st</sup> lieutenant’s face.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I don't know if I managed to do it justice, but the conversation with Indra at the end was the whole idea around which this fic revolves. I wanted to portray an equal relationship between Elyza and Alicia. So Elyza might be a BAMF who kills walkers and taught the younger girl how to fight, but Alicia is not a damsel in distress either, and she looks after the blonde in her own way.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Chapter 19</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Elyza, her jacket in hand, sat next to her girlfriend at the back of the humvee. After a couple of weeks at the soldiers’ camp, they were both feeling restless and had volunteered for a supply run, along with Raven and Anya. Indra had expressed some concerns about having only one of her own with them, but after seeing Elyza and Alicia train against some soldiers, she had relented.</p><p>The four women headed for a nearby town, half an hour away by car. They were in dire need of vegetables, and those were becoming harder and harder to find. Without any music, the journey was rather boring, and Elyza couldn’t help but play with the brunette’s hand. She knew that making out at the back of the vehicle would be of poor taste, especially since she wasn’t sure what was happening between the two women at the front. She had noticed the lingering looks and teasing matches, but as far as she knew, nothing had happened yet between the Latina and the almond-eyed soldier.</p><p>Once they arrived in town, Anya parked the humvee on the side of the road, and the four of them got off, weapons ready. Where Alicia had become proficient with the staff, Elyza still preferred her knives. Anya sported a couple of guns at her belt, and a long metallic rod in her right hand; and Raven, though also carrying knives, favored the baseball bat one of the soldiers had given her.</p><p>They were walking down the street slowly, on the alert, looking left and right for interesting shops or intact houses, when they suddenly heard some noise. About 50 feet away from their position, a door was pushed open by a young boy. At first, the group assumed the child was an infected, and their stomachs turned at the thought of having to kill him. No matter how long one survived in this new world, or how many walkers they finished off, the one thing that was impossible to get used to was the sight of dead children walking around, their lives tragically cut too short. But before they could be saddened about it, the boy gasped and took off.</p><p>Surprised at the turn of events, the women stayed still for a few seconds before starting to chase him. Who was that kid? And how had he survived for so long? They ran after the child for about 200 yards, not daring to call him and attract unwanted attention, before he rushed between a house and a library, and they lost track of him. Despite the potential danger, the women agreed that they couldn’t leave without first making sure that the child was safe and cared for, and they split into two groups. Elyza and Alicia would check the library while Anya and Raven would inspect the house.</p><p>After Elyza had jimmied the backdoor, the two lovers carefully entered the building. It hadn’t been spared by the events of the past six months. Books were scattered on the floor, some shelves had been knocked over, papers were lying everywhere. They did, however, notice that despite the chaos, no infected were inside, and the front door and all the windows had been blocked by shelves. Someone had clearly been using this place at some point. Spotting the stairs that led to the second floor, they silently made their way up, Elyza at the front, knife in hand, Alicia covering her back.</p><p>Once they reached the second floor, they found a large space that had probably served as a reading space, with a few rooms on the side. Elyza opened the closest door, but when she tried to enter, her foot got caught into something and she fell face first. Only her fast reflexes allowed her to roll to the side and avoid the piece of wood that had been coming towards her head.</p><p>“Stop!” Alicia shouted after seeing the stick hit the floor where her lover’s head had been a second before. “We don’t want to hurt you.”</p><p>Elyza got back on her feet, groaning, and was met with a sight she had not expected. Inside the room, four children were looking at them warily, their clothes ratty and their faces covered in dirt. The sandy blond-haired boy who had tried to hit Elyza still had the piece of wood in his hand and was defensively standing between them and the three younger children. Alicia opened her mouth to reassure them when the sound of a gun being cocked stopped her short.</p><p>“Don’t move,” a low voice said, coming from behind them. “Aden, are you all right?”</p><p>“Please,” Alicia replied, lowering her staff onto the floor, “we don’t want you any harm. We just saw a young boy on the street and we wanted to make sure that he was safe.”</p><p>“Although, based on the trap that just got me, you are doing pretty well for yourselves,” Elyza grumpily added before sheathing her knife.</p><p>Turning slowly, the two women looked at the man still shakily aiming his gun at them. He seemed to be in his late forties or early fifties, bald, his dark eyes staring at them. The brown-haired boy that had seen on the street was standing next to him. He had probably warned the man of their coming while they were climbing the stairs.</p><p>When Anya and Raven showed up a minute later, the situation got even tenser, but they eventually all agreed to lower their weapons and talk. The group learned that the man, Neil Titus, had been an elementary school teacher before the epidemic. They all had been on a school trip nearby when things had suddenly taken a bad turn, and he had only managed to save the five children by hiding with them in the library. Since then, they had survived thanks to the rain collector on the roof of the library and the supplies in the neighboring houses and supermarket. The boy that had run away from them on the street introduced himself as Ben, 9 years old. The blond that had tried to hit Elyza was Aden, 8 years old, and the other three were Madi, 6, Ben’s sister Sarah, 6, and Toby, 7.</p><p>Titus had clearly done everything he could to protect his charges, but they were running out of food, and it was a miracle they had made it this far. Elyza, introducing herself as a doctor and former medic, gave the children a check-up. They all appeared underfed and exhausted, not to mention in need of a bath, or twenty. When Alicia offered them the protein bars she had brought for the trip, the five kids nearly jumped on her like a pack of hungry wolves.</p><p>The man and the five children seemed scared of leaving what had been their refuge for six months, but knowing that they wouldn’t find much more food in the neighborhood and would have to move eventually, they agreed to follow the women back to their camp. Fitting everybody into the humvee took some coaxing, but eventually, Titus agreed to sit on the tonneau with Elyza, while Anya took the wheel. Raven sat next to her with Sarah on her lap, and Alicia was at the back with Madi on her lap and the three boys curled around her. The little girl seemed so tired that once the engine started, she put her arms around the brunette’s neck and fell asleep against her chest.</p><p>Their arrival at the factory didn’t go unnoticed. Most people hadn’t seen alive children in months, and the sight of five, no matter how dirty they looked, brought a lot of smiles on the soldiers’ faces. Even Indra and Gustus, indisputably the scariest of the lot, looked much softer all of the sudden. Elyza entered with Aden and Toby at her side, followed by Alicia carrying a still sleeping Madi, Raven holding Sarah’s hand, and Anya gently nudging a wary Ben. While Titus was introducing himself to Indra and was shown around the factory, the four women, plus Octavia, led the children to the showers.</p><p>Twenty minutes and a lot of splashing later, the five kids, all dressed in oversized camo clothing made it back to the communal area where they were finally able to eat as much as they wanted for the first time in months.</p><p>Elyza, standing near a wall, couldn’t tear her eyes off her girlfriend. Alicia was really a natural with kids, showing a nurturing side she had only glimpsed before. She helped them eat and told them stories to make them laugh, stroking hair here and wiping a dirty mouth there. The blonde had never really thought about starting a family before. Between her time in the Army, her nightmares, and the end of the world, she had thought that it might not be in the cards for her. But that night, watching the woman she loved taking care of the children with a smile on her face that could have lit a whole town, she began to wonder how having her own family might feel like.</p>
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<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Chapter 20</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Alicia woke up with a mop of blond hair on her left shoulder — a common occurrence for months now — and a small foot poking at her right elbow — that was new. Lifting her head from the pillow, she smiled at the sight of Madi, who had apparently rotated at 180° during the night, her brown hair messily covering her face. On the other side of the little girl, Aden, his green eyes still closed in his sleep, was drooling on his pillow.</p><p>After bringing the children back to their camp, they had rearranged the tents to accommodate them. Titus had seemed rather relieved to take a break from his guardianship duties, after looking after 5 kids below 10 for 6 months all by himself, and Bellamy had happily stepped up as a substitute teacher, while Lincoln was acting as a sort of PE teacher with Octavia’s help. In the end, Alicia and Elyza had moved into a smaller tent with Madi and Aden, while Lincoln, Octavia, and Raven had decided to share the bigger one with Ben, Sarah and Toby, leaving Bellamy with Strand and Titus.</p><p>Only Madison, who was now Anya and Tris’s roommate, had expressed some concerns at the idea of her daughter essentially living with her girlfriend and two children. Alicia, understanding where her mother was coming from, was trying to be more patient. After all, her teenage daughter was growing up fast, and she had missed a lot of it, and her son, whom she had never really managed to control, had spread his wings and was spending a lot more time with his girlfriend than with her. On top of that, she had to watch her children being happily in love while, now that they had moved back to the US, the chances of Travis finding them were close to none. That is why, to help the older blonde feel useful, Alicia suggested that she should babysit the children when she and Elyza went for another supply run a few days later.</p><p>This time, instead of heading to the nearby town, they decide to explore the opposite direction, hoping to find places that had not been raided yet. After a couple of hours on the road, Alicia was driving when her girlfriend suddenly told her to stop.</p><p>“Licia, look! There are some horses over there.”</p><p>Indeed, once they parked, Alicia could see a dozen horses roam freely in a field surrounded by a fence. Driving along the fence, the two women eventually arrived at a big white house, surrounded by a barn and various fields of cereals and vegetables. Though weed was trying to reclaim ownership of the land, it was quite obvious that someone was taking care of the place and its animals, and growing all the vegetables they could see.</p><p>“Hello?” Elyza shouted, looking for signs of life around. “Anybody home? We don’t mean any harm.”</p><p>They were about to enter the house when fearful screams resonated near the barn. The two women exchanged a glance and ran toward the commotion, their trusted weapons ready to bash some skulls.</p><p>When they realized that whoever was shouting was not in the barn, they bypassed it and found a young Asian man battling two walkers with a stick. Wherever the dead had come from, they had clearly surprised him while he was feeding the pigs in the pen. He was holding one of the walkers by the shirt, trying to keep it at bay while he was desperately hitting the other infected with his stick. But due to the proximity of the threat, he could not exert enough force to break or penetrate the skull, he could only manage to tear the skin of the woman’s face. The couple could hear some voices coming from the fields, but the man would be bitten before they arrived. Quietly nodding to each other, the lovers sprang into action. Elyza sank her knife deep into the dead man’s temple while Alicia killed the other one with a strong blow of her staff.</p><p>“Th—thank you,” the young man stuttered, slumping on his butt, shaking.</p><p>“Monty!” they heard a woman’s voice shout, “Monty! Are you okay?”</p><p>The three newcomers were panting by the time they reached them. Alicia and Elyza studied them carefully, their weapons down but not put away. The woman who seemed to have shouted was about their height, with a slim body, long blond hair, and brown eyes. After introducing herself as Harper McIntyre, she helped her boyfriend Monty Green stand up and stayed by his side. The other two were also a couple. The man, Jasper Jordan, sported short black hair and a goatee while his girlfriend, Maya Vie, had shoulder-length dark wavy hair and olive skin.</p><p>“How did these two walkers enter your property?” Alicia asked once they were done with the introductions. “We saw some animals around, so I’m guessing you have a strong fence.”</p><p>“We do,” Monty replied, still a little shaken. “We reinforce it regularly, but it goes around the whole property, so that’s more than a mile to inspect, and there are only four of us—”</p><p>“This farm used to belong to Monty’s parents,” Harper continued. “The four of us have been friends since junior high, so when things started to go crazy, we came here. We’ve been taking care of the crops and animals since.”</p><p>“I see. You’re lucky to have been able to stay in one place for so long,” Alicia replied wistfully. “I traveled with my family, we went to Mexico on a boat, that’s how Elyza and I met. We lost some people there and lived in a hotel for a while. When it was overrun by a herd, only eight of us made it out alive and we decided to head back north. We were rescued by a group of soldiers near the border a few weeks ago, and we’ve been staying with them ever since.”</p><p>“I think I know who you’re talking about,” Jasper said. “Maya and I met some of them maybe six weeks ago when we went into town to look for tools. A scary Asian lady and a couple of dudes.”</p><p>“Yeah, that was Anya,” Elyza snickered, not surprised to hear that the nerdy guy had been intimidated by the 2<sup>nd</sup> lieutenant.</p><p>In the end, happy to chat with people around their own age, the two women decided to spend the night at the farm and to get to know their new friends better. They helped them inspect the fence in exchange for some vegetables to bring back to the factory, and stayed up until 3 AM reminiscing about their lives before the epidemic and drinking moonshine prepared by Jasper and Monty.</p><p>The next morning, they were getting ready to leave the farm and return to their camp when Alicia emitted a suggestion.</p><p>“Guys, feel free to say no, but you said you could use a hand in the fields and with the fence. As you know, our group is pretty good at hunting and at killing the walkers, but none of us knows much about farming and we are seriously lacking greens. How would you feel if some of us came here regularly to help you, in exchange for part of your harvest?”</p><p>It didn’t take long for the four friends to agree. They had been lucky not to encounter any major problem so far, but they were stretched really thin as it was, and harvest season was upon them. Eventually, the two groups decided on a one-month trial period. Soldiers would come to help twice a week, in exchange for food to bring back to camp. If things ran smoothly, they would make the arrangement more permanent.</p><p>On the way back, Elyza and Alicia could not help but smile at each other. Alicia was happy to have made new friends, and the blonde was proud of her girlfriend for showing leadership skills and coming up with ways to improve everybody’s situation. They knew that they had already been away longer than anticipated and that their people would start to worry soon. But it was so difficult to have privacy in this new world, especially now that they had children around, that when Elyza parked the car on a deserted side road surrounded by trees, Alicia did not comment on it. On the contrary, she wasted no time in reacquainting herself with her lover’s body, making her come twice with her tongue before becoming putty in the blonde’s skilled hands. They could always blame the hickeys on tree branches or pesky mosquitoes anyway.</p>
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<a name="section0021"><h2>21. Chapter 21</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>TW: bit of blood/surgery in this one<br/>Do not try this at home!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Elyza wiped her sweaty forehead, the late January sun shining heavily above her. Kneeling in the dirt, she had been picking cabbages and leeks for a good two hours, and her back was starting to hurt.</p><p>When they had returned to camp after meeting their new friends, Indra and Anya had immediately approved of their partnership with the Green farm. As promised, they had sent groups of people twice a week to help maintain the property and care for the animals, in exchange for vegetables. Elyza and Alicia journeyed back and forth many times to strengthen the ties between the two groups. Things went so well that, after a month, both parties agreed to merge. The soldiers and hotel survivors left the factory, easily defendable but not ideal for a long-term settlement, and they moved to the farm. They helped secure the perimeter, run patrols around the fence, and, under Monty’s careful supervision, they were helping with the fields and the animals as well. Most of the soldiers had pitched their tents into the barn or the annex for now, but they were planning on building some extra shelters for those still staying in the tents.</p><p>They had permanently moved to the farm almost four months before, and things were looking good so far. Thanks to their friendly demeanour and much-appreciated moonshine, Monty, Harper, Jasper, and Maya had rapidly become part of the group. They made the others feel welcome at the farm, even relocating to smaller rooms to let the children sleep with the adults they trusted most. Elyza had fewer and fewer nightmares, and she still couldn’t believe her luck when she would wake up in the morning, in her girlfriend's arms, often with one or two kids cuddled up next to them instead of being in their bunk bed.</p><p>After a few weeks, things had settled into a routine. There weren’t many fruits and vegetables to harvest in winter, but the animals needed care, and the fence had to be reinforced regularly against the walkers. Elyza and Alicia had unofficially adopted Aden and Madi, and the four of them could be seen playing outside daily after the children’s lessons. Octavia and Lincoln, still very much in love, had asked Toby if he wanted to officially live with them, and in-between happy tears, the curly-haired young boy agreed. After catching Strand and Titus with their tongues down each other’s throat and their hands otherwise occupied, Bellamy quickly moved out of their shared room and relocated to the barn with some of the soldiers. Jasper, Monty, Octavia, and Elyza bet on how long it would take Anya and Raven to hook up. Elyza won the bottle of moonshine when they caught them making out during a patrol in early December. Of course, not wanting to hand over the bottle to Octavia, she failed to tell the other two that Ben had complained about seeing them kissing a couple of weeks prior.</p><p>At first, the brown-haired boy hadn’t dealt with the changes as well as his young friends. After months of semi-freedom and independence, with only one adult to listen to who had been extremely busy keeping them all alive, Ben was used to doing what he wanted. But with over two dozen adults regularly telling him what to do, the boy started acting out. He would hide for hours at a time and tried more than once to join supply runs by sneaking into the car trunks. Surprisingly, the only person who seemed to be able to control him was Anya. He apparently reminded the dirty-blond-haired woman of herself as a child, and she took it upon herself to help him find ways to adjust. While Raven was keeping an eye on the boy’s sister, Anya was making him train with the soldiers. Despite his initial reluctance, his interest was piqued when she pointed out that he would have a better chance of protecting his friends if he learned how to fight. And when she showed him how to ride a horse, his big grey eyes lit in a way that had brought a beautiful smile upon the hardened woman’s face. The four of them had chosen to move into the refitted attic, along with Tris, who claimed that someone had to stop the new couple from scarring the children for life.</p><p>Elyza stood up with her minibox full of vegetables, intending to bring it back to the house, and turned her head sharply at the sound of screams coming from another field. Squinting, she saw Anya running towards her with a crying Raven in her arms.</p><p>“What happened?” the blonde shouted, dropping the vegetables and approaching her friends.</p><p>“Some walkers made it past the fence in the south field. We didn’t notice them. One of them bit Raven’s leg,” the older blonde replied panting, her jaw clenched.</p><p>Elyza looked at the dark-haired woman now lying on the ground. She could see her torn lower pants and the angry wound near her ankle. The flesh had been torn; the teeth indentation clearly visible under the blood.</p><p>“Shit,” Alicia exclaimed from behind Elyza. “What are we gonna do?”</p><p>The Australian hesitated. She knew that a bite was a death sentence, she had seen it many times. But her first instinct as a doctor was to try to save a life, and she wasn’t going to sit there and watch her friend die.</p><p>“Love, go get me some bottles of moonshine, and clean towels. Meet us in the living room,” she instructed. “Anya, tie your belt above her knee, as tight as possible, and bring her to the living room. I’ll meet you there.”</p><p>The almond-eyed woman looked like she wanted to argue, but in the end, she simply nodded and followed her orders. Elyza, running as fast as she could, grabbed an axe in the barn and went back to the house. At the view of the tool in her hand, the three women in the living room blanched.</p><p>“Are you sure about this Lyza?” Alicia asked her, uncertain. “Have you done it before?”</p><p>“No,” she replied honestly. “I’ve seen it done in the field once. But the bite will kill her if we wait.”</p><p>“Do it,” Raven replied, gritting her teeth.</p><p>After administering the ketamine Nick had saved up for a rainy day and setting another tourniquet near the woman’s groin, Elyza took a deep inhalation, and brought done the moonshine-covered axe just under the knee. It took three more swings to completely cut off the lower limb, the bone proving to be harder than Elyza had anticipated. Raven had mercifully passed out after the first one, and Anya was cradling her head on her lap, sobbing. Once it was done, Elyza carefully wrapped the stump with dressing and towels, praying that it wouldn’t get infected.</p><p>Tris, Bellamy, and Octavia had managed to stop the children from entering the room, but once Raven had been moved to Monty and Harper’s bed on the first floor, they couldn’t contain them anymore.</p><p>“How is she?” Ben asked, trying to stay strong for his sister.</p><p>“Is she going to die?” Sarah cried out, her intelligent brown eyes full of tears.</p><p>“Come here,” Anya replied, hugging the two siblings she had come to love. “She is still alive, and she’s strong. But now all we can do is wait, do you understand?”</p><p>The two children nodded slowly, their heads nuzzled into the dirty-blond-haired soldier, who was trying very hard not to lose it too. Elyza followed Alicia out of the room, giving them some privacy.</p><p>“If you need anything, or if her condition changes, let me know, okay?” she told her friend gently before closing the door. “I’ll come back to check on her in a couple of hours.”</p><p>Elyza sat on the couch, her legs still shaking. Thankfully, most of the farm occupants had left the house already, leaving them to recover from the gruesome ordeal.</p><p>“Hey, are you okay?” her girlfriend asked, straddling her, concern evident in her voice.</p><p>“What if I was wrong, Licia? What if it was for nothing, and she still dies?” Now that the adrenaline was fading, Elyza couldn’t stop her tears from falling.</p><p>“Shh,” Alicia replied, bringing the blonde’s head into the crook of her neck. “What you did was amazing, and very brave. You gave her a chance. That’s more than what any of us could have done. Whatever happens now, it’s not on you.”</p><p>“I’m so tired of all this shit, Licia,” the blonde continued after a few minutes, her voice quivering. “I thought we’d be safe here, but all it takes is a small gap in the fence, and walkers can come in and take everything from us. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you, or Aden, or Madi.”</p><p>“I know my love, I know. This place is great, but it’s also too open. Rest for now, we’ll talk about it with the others later.”</p><p>“And for the record,” the brunette added quickly, staring at the wet blue eyes, “I would lose myself too if anything happened to you or the kids. So, trust me when I say that I’ll do everything in my power to prevent that.”</p>
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<a name="section0022"><h2>22. Chapter 22</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>New POV, and more of a Ranya-centric chapter</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Raven woke up crying, her left leg feeling like it was on fire.</p><p>“Here, take these,” Elyza said, giving her a couple of pills. “That’s all the pain killers we have, but it should take the edge off.”</p><p>“What happened?” the Latina asked. She could feel her hair, habitually tightly held in a ponytail, all mussed, and her skin was clammy.</p><p>“You were bitten two days ago. Do you remember? I had to cut your leg to stop the infection. You’ve been in and out of consciousness since.”</p><p>“Fuuuck!” the woman sighed, her head falling back onto the pillow. That explained the pain in her lower leg. “Am I gonna turn?”</p><p>“No,” the blonde replied calmly. “If the bite was going to turn you despite the amputation, it would have done it already. So as long as you don’t catch an infection, you should be fine.”</p><p>Fine, but crippled. Raven could feel the tears rolling down her cheeks, and did nothing to stop them. Running for her life in this fucked up new world was already hard enough on two legs, how would she manage on one? How was the group going to react now that she was a liability? And oh God, how about Anya? How could the blonde, with her beautiful lean body and sculptural face look at her again?</p><p>The Latina was sniffling and sobbing loudly, ignoring the medic next to her. She didn’t hear the door open, nor did she notice the blonde exiting the room and the other blonde entering and sitting by her side, her hand strongly holding a shaking shoulder.</p><p>“Raven, shh, Raven,” the older woman whispered, gently pulling the girl’s head against her chest. “You are okay. You’re alive. Do you need something for the pain?”</p><p>“Elyza already gave me something,” she replied quietly after a minute. “I’m tired, I think I should sleep more,” she added, dismissing the blonde before she started weeping again.</p><p>“Okay, let me know if you need anything,” Anya replied, tucking her in.</p><p>The next few days were tough on the sable-haired woman. The pain was slowly receding, but she couldn’t do more than sit on the bed. Elyza and Alicia had changed her dressings regularly, and the sight of her stump had made her vomit the first time. She didn’t blame the medic, and rationally, she knew that she would have died without the amputation, but the sight of her left lower leg brutally cut just below the knee was difficult to stomach. She was trying to keep her mind busy by designing a prosthetic in her head for once the wound was healed, but it would never replace what she had lost. The kids tried to lift her spirit and visited her regularly, especially Ben and Sarah. They spent most afternoons in bed with her, reading her books or telling her about how the farm was doing.</p><p>One evening, about 10 days after her injury, Elyza and Anya carried her to the living room, where Alicia had called a meeting. The space was cramped, but they were all there: the 8 survivors of the Rosarito Beach Hotel, the 5 people from the Mexican community, the 13 soldiers of the 1<sup>st</sup> Cavalry Division, the 4 farmers, and the 5 children with their former guardian.</p><p>Alicia stood in front of them all, explaining with calm precision how the farm, though full of resources, was not a safe place. It was too open, and only a matter of time before they were attacked by other survivors wanting to steal it from them, or overrun by a herd of walkers like the one they had seen at the hotel.</p><p>Raven could only agree with the brunette, her injury a clear warning that they were not as safe as they had thought. Even on her deathbed, she would refuse to admit it, but the Latina was in awe of Alicia at that moment. The girl, only 18 years old, commanded the whole room like she had been born for it. She listened to the others’ arguments and concerns and redirected them masterfully. It was quite the sight, a room full of adults older than her, more experienced, many of them seasoned soldiers, hanging to her every word. Raven noticed Indra discreetly nodding her agreement, ready to support the brunette if needed. But what she wouldn’t forget anytime soon was Elyza’s face. The blonde was standing perpendicularly to Alicia, her body towards the group, with her eyes glued to her lover. Raven had teased them both on more than one occasion about their “heart eyes”, pretending to vomit when they were being annoyingly cute. But right there, the pride and love shining in the doctor’s eyes were so intense that the mechanic had to look away, feeling like she had intruded on a private moment.</p><p>She only distractedly listened to the rest of the conversation, already knowing that they would agree with Alicia’s plan in the end. It was pretty simple actually, and the Latina was annoyed that she hadn’t thought about it herself. The main danger they were facing was that wherever they went, no matter how much they fortified their position, they were at risk of being attacked by one of the herds that seemed to be roaming the continent. The only way to avoid this was to leave the said continent and to settle on a smaller piece of land with no walkers or few enough that they could eliminate them upon arrival. The brunette had apparently thought about it for a while, but none of the islands she knew of nearby had the supplies necessary to build a colony. Now, however, thanks to the animals and the crops from the farm, they could start from scratch somewhere deserted. It would be a pain and take them months to build decent accommodations, but it was feasible.   </p><p>After about an hour of discussion, the group was in agreement. They would move the animals and gather all the material, seeds, and crops they could carry to the coast, acquire a boat, and transfer to Santa Rosa Island, one of the biggest islands of the Channel Islands of California. The lack of services on the island meant that unless someone else had had the same idea, it would be empty. Once they settled there, the only risk left would be pirates, and one of them dying and turning. It still wasn't perfect, but it would be a lot safer, and they could build some defenses against a maritime attack.</p><p>Feeling tired after all the excitement, Raven returned to the room, Anya at her side.</p><p>“It’s gonna be okay,” the tall blonde gently told her after helping her settle back onto the bed. “We will find a safer place, where you and the kids won’t have to worry about walkers anymore.”</p><p>“Yeah, I hope so,” the Latina replied.</p><p>“You know,” she added after a long sigh, “you don’t have to stay. I get it, it’s fine. We had a lot of fun, but you didn’t sign up for this,” she said, pointing at her leg. “It’s okay if you wanna—”</p><p>“Raven,” the woman sternly replied, hurt visible all over her face “look at me. Do you really think so little of me that you assume I’d leave you because you got injured?”</p><p>The Latina couldn’t hold her gaze, the tears pooling into her dark brown eyes. She felt a hand gently lift her chin, and almond eyes stared right into her.</p><p>“I’m a soldier, Raven. You’ve seen the scars that litter my body. Are you less attracted to me because of them?”</p><p>“No, but it’s different,” the black-haired woman answered. “You look like the goddess of war; your scars make you even more badass. But me, I’m—I’m incomplete now.”</p><p> “Raven,” the dirty-blond-haired woman sighed, “I get that it will take you some getting used to. And that’s normal. I swear, I am not any less attracted to you because of your leg. You are alive. I thought I was going to lose you, and it was killing me. But you are here, you are breathing, and I love you so, so much. I would love you even if you had no arms and legs.”</p><p>“That’s because you know what I can do with my tongue,” the woman replied with a smirk. At the wet chuckled that greeted her, she lifted her head back again, noticing the tears on the normally composed soldier’s cheeks.</p><p>“Aw, come here you big softie,” she said gently, hugging the older woman. “I love you too, Ahn.”</p><p>And because actions often carry a lot more meaning than words, the blonde stood up to lock the room, and the two lovers proved to each other again and again how strong their connection was, scars and injuries be damned.</p>
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<a name="section0023"><h2>23. Chapter 23</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Alicia was staring at the ocean, lost in memories. The last time she had been on a boat, Travis and Chris were still with them, she had felt so lost and alone, and she had unknowingly met the love of her life. And now, a year later, she had an amazing girlfriend, two adorable kids, and she was leading their little group of survivors to a new land. Gone was the studious teenager who could not wait to move out of her family’s house and study in Berkeley, or the scared girl draped in flannel and pushed around by her mother.</p><p>When she looked at the mirror now, she saw a young woman clad in camo and black clothing, muscles hardened by months of training, her staff always within easy reach and two knives sheathed at her waist, her back straight and her hair braided behind her head like a warrior of the past. Elyza had jokingly told her once that she should consider wearing war paint on her face to scare the walkers away. One morning, while the kids were studying with Bellamy, they had even indulged in a little bit of role-playing. Alicia had been a warlord negligently sitting on her throne — the most comfortable chair they could find — and Elyza had played the leader of a new faction asking for her help. The negotiations had rapidly become hands-on, and by the end of it, Alicia-the-warlord had been the one to swear fealty to her lover and beg for her release. The thoughts of that particular morning still reddened her cheeks.</p><p>Following her suggestion, the group had packed everything that could be moved from the farm, gathered the animals, and collected all the seeds they had, and headed towards the coast. The journey had been potentially dangerous, of course, putting them at risk of being attacked by other survivors or by a herd. But she chose to make only one trip, rather than split into smaller groups that might not have been able to defend themselves. Tris, Strand, and Gustus were the only ones to move ahead of them, and they went to an old navy base to see if they could find a boat. Luckily, the three of them found a vessel slightly bigger than the Abigail, and they met, as agreed, a couple of days later about 30 km away from the ruins of Los Angeles.</p><p>Fitting 31 adults, 5 children, 6 horses, 8 pigs, a dozen chickens, and all the material they brought on the boat was impossible. In the end, they agreed to split the fighters into two groups and sent half of them with some animals and equipment to the island. Leaving Elyza and their two kids behind had been one of the most difficult things Alicia had ever done, but with both of them being the de facto leaders, it had made sense.</p><p>“Hey, how are you doing, little sister?” Nick asked, coming behind her on the deck. “Thinking about the Mrs?”</p><p>“Yeah,” Alicia sighed. “I can’t help but worry, what if someone takes advantage of the situation and attacks while there are fewer of them there?”</p><p>“Don’t fret, Elyza will be fine. She isn’t alone, Indra and the others won’t let anything happen to her or your kids. Besides,” he added with a smirk, “remember the time she was half-dead and took care of four pirates all by herself? If someone should be worried, it’s the idiots who would dare to stand between the two of you.”</p><p>“I guess you’re right,” the brunette chuckled. “Thanks, Nick. I know I haven’t really said it, but I’m glad you’re back.”</p><p>“Yeah, me too, Licia. Though I have to admit, I didn’t expect to become an uncle so young.”</p><p>“I know,” she replied, hesitating. “Do you think I’m crazy? Taking care of two young kids like that?”</p><p>“Honestly, we are all doing stuff we never thought we’d be doing a year ago. You’re basically a mom now, and you’re leading all of us, Mom is finally backing off — as much as she can at least — and I’m clean.”</p><p>“For what it’s worth,” he added after a moment, “I think you are doing an amazing job, and those kids are lucky to have you. I’m so proud of you, Licia.”</p><p>“Thanks, Nick,” she replied, hugging her brother and hiding her tears. “I’m proud of you too, you know.”</p><p>After about an hour on the boat, they finally landed on Santa Rosa Island. As predicted, the whole place was empty, save for a few walkers that had either died there or been washed up on the shore by the currents. After unloading the boat, they gathered the animals they had brought and started pitching tents for the night while Strand was going back to pick up the other half of their group.</p><p>It took two more trips to bring everybody onto the island. They chose to move Raven, the children, and the rest of the animals next, and all the fighters that remained on the continent boarded last. Luck was on their side for once, as they only had to fight off a few infected during the whole operation, which lasted well into the evening. Aware that the next few weeks would be exhausting, they all went to bed early. Aden and Madi asked if they could have a sleepover with Ben, Sarah, and Toby and, since Anya and Raven agreed to watch over them in the large tent, Alicia and Elyza opted to spend the night in a two-person tent, away from prying eyes and ears.</p><p>The brunette was straddling her girlfriend, their tops already discarded somewhere to the side, hands roaming the skin on display.</p><p>“I was so worried something would happen to you while I was away,” Alicia said between two kisses.</p><p>“I know the feeling, Love,” the blonde replied, holding in a moan when deft fingers pinched one of her nipples through the bra. “Rationally, you weren’t supposed to be in any danger coming here, and yet all I wanted to do was jump into the water and swim to the boat to be with you.”</p><p>“I love you so much, Lyza. I can’t bear the thought of losing you.”</p><p>“Hey, Alicia, look at me,” the blonde asked, capturing the girl’s hands with her own. “I love you too, more than anything. And I promise that I will always, always do my best to return to you. Okay?”</p><p>The brunette nodded, wiping a tear that was threatening to escape the corner of her eye, and slowly brought her lips back onto her lover’s ones, parting them with her tongue before exploring the welcoming mouth. Sliding an arm between the blonde’s body and the ground, she swiftly opened the clasp and removed the sky-blue bra, freeing the two mounds she could never get tired of.</p><p>Her mouth dragged its way down the jaw, the neck, the collarbone, finally closing on a pink nipple and sucking it just the way her girlfriend liked it. She could feel the hands lost in her brown curls, trying not to pull too hard. Holding her weight onto an elbow, her free hand played with the other breast for a few minutes before starting its journey south. After an enthusiastic nod from the blonde, she rolled the pants and panties down the strong legs before her hand went back up, raising goosebumps along the contracting thighs.</p><p>“I wanna see you too, beautiful,” Elyza breathed out.</p><p>With a smile, the brunette got rid of the rest of her clothes before connecting their bodies, chest to chest, their centers nearly touching, and kissed the breath out of the blonde. Alicia then got back into a sitting position, wrapping one of her lover’s legs around her waist, their wet centers grinding against each other. The position was taxing, but thanks to all the training they had done since the hotel, she managed to keep their bodies rolling long enough to see her lover come with a deep moan, her back arched and her head buried in the pillows.</p><p>“Come here,” the blonde told her after a minute, a glimmer in her eyes.</p><p>Alicia playfully raised an eyebrow but complied, crawling over Elyza’s body until her knees were on each side of her head. With no headboard to hold on to, she grabbed both of her girlfriend’s hands to steady herself and lowered her center against the parted lips. Remembering that they were not far from the rest of the group, she had to bite her lips to stop the moans that threatened to escape. But when she felt Elyza finally suck on her clitoris, she quivered and let out a long whimper before falling backward, completely spent.</p><p>Once her breathing was back to normal, she turned her body around and placed her head on the blonde’s chest, their fingers intertwined. That night, she stayed immobile for a long time, listening to her girlfriend’s light snores, and thanking the universe for letting her survive so far and bringing the older woman into her life.  </p>
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<a name="section0024"><h2>24. Chapter 24</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>TW: a bit of violence and blood in this one. It is still the apocalypse after all!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Elyza was getting ready for her first supply run in weeks. After moving to Santa Rosa Island, the group had been extremely busy. There were so many things to do: building new pens for the animals, ploughing and sowing new fields — without much equipment other than spades and shovels, it had been exhausting work, even for the soldiers — establishing patrol posts and starting to build permanent accommodation for all of them.</p><p>They were celebrating their third month on the island, and they had barely put a dent in their to-do list. They had roughly separated into two groups: those in charge of the animals and fields, under Monty’s supervision, and those in charge of the security and construction, under Indra and Gustus’s orders. Some fields were ready to be harvested, and they were expecting a couple of foals and a litter of piglets. But they were all still sleeping in tents, and at that rate, it would take them more than a year to build enough houses for the whole community. That was why, after careful consideration, they had decided that Elyza, Madison, Indra, Gustus, Echo, Lincoln, and a couple more soldiers would go back to the mainland to look for more tools, especially hammers, burins, and as many nails as they could find.</p><p>Alicia had wanted to accompany them, but after Elyza had pointed out that one of them should remain with the children, and that the others needed her to lead them, she had agreed to stay with a slight pout. The blonde grabbed her bag and was heading towards the boat when an annoyed Madison took her aside.</p><p>“Shouldn’t you stay here too and be the one to lead?” the older blonde started. “Why do you always insist on putting my daughter in charge? She is not even 19 yet.”</p><p>Elyza rolled her eyes discreetly before responding, her voice betraying none of her exasperation. “Because she is a much better leader than you and I will ever be.”</p><p>She had expected her girlfriend’s mother to disagree or argue with her, but as her statement was met only with confusion, she sighed and continued — in for a penny in for a pound after all. “Except maybe for the children, I’d let everybody here die just to save her. And I think, apart for Nick, you’d too.” Madison opened her mouth at that, before closing it and nodding once. “But Alicia, she thinks about the group first. She cares about every single person here, and she’s not afraid to make tough decisions that benefit us all. I know she is still young, but she was born for this. You should be proud; you raised an amazing woman.”</p><p>Madison stayed quiet for a couple of minutes, looking at the tents and their little community, before speaking again, her voice much raspier than it had been.</p><p> “I know. I know how incredible she is, even when sometimes I forget. I just thought I’d have more time before she truly doesn’t need me anymore.” The older woman then shook her head, before looking straight at Elyza, with more gentleness than she ever had before. “We haven’t always seen eye-to-eye you and I, and I didn’t necessarily approve of your relationship with my daughter at first, but I’m glad she has found you, and that she has someone she can rely on when things get hard.”</p><p>Not sure what to say at the unexpected confession, Elyza squeezed the woman’s shoulder before climbing onto the boat. She raised an eyebrow at the sight of Echo kissing Bellamy goodbye before joining her on the bench — when had these two become an item? — she wondered, feeling the boat engine sputtered to life. Strand would bring the group ashore before safely retreating a mile away from the coast. They would call him on the radio Raven had built with spare pieces from the factory once they had what they needed.</p><p>The venture started well. The group made it to Oxnard and carefully rummaged through a few shops. Weapons and drugs had been taken a long time ago, but they managed to get their hands on some cans of food and much-needed tools, blankets, and a few more things that would ease their daily life. Elyza finally found what she had been looking for, and carefully put the little box in her backpack before meeting the others.</p><p>They were on their way back to the boat when they suddenly came face to face with another group of survivors composed mostly of gruff men in their thirties, with unkempt beards and hollow cheeks. Before they could even begin to introduce themselves, one of the men grabbed Elyza’s backpack.</p><p>“Oh no, you don’t!” the blonde replied, pissed off, before slamming her fist into his face twice. The sickening noise of the broken bone didn’t deter the man, but when blood started pouring out of his nostrils, he let go of the bag and covered his face with both his hands.</p><p>The next few minutes were a blur of blood, knife swings, and screams. Thanks to their training, Elyza’s group had the upper hand, but their opponents were clearly desperate and refused to back down. The blonde heard Indra growl, a knife deeply embedded in her shoulder after she had jumped in front of Madison to protect her. Elyza, not willing to lose another friend, pulled out a gun and shot the man responsible square in the head.</p><p>“Leave, all of you!” she shouted at their assailants, aiming at them one by one. “If my bullets won't kill you, the walkers that are surely gonna come our way will.”</p><p>The men hesitated for a moment before retreating slowly, their hands raised in the air. Already hearing the shuffling and moaning noise typical of the infected, Echo and Madison grabbed Indra between them and the group started to head back towards the harbour.</p><p>Elyza thought they were out of danger when she felt a blinding pain coming from her right thigh. Looking at it in disbelief, she saw an arrow protruding from the front side of her leg. One of the men, out of pettiness or revenge, had shouted at her with a crossbow before disappearing onto the streets.</p><p>“Fuuuck!” she cried out before collapsing, her leg no longer supporting her weight. She turned around, ready to face any walker that came her way, and suddenly found herself cradled in Gustus’s arms.</p><p>“Hang in there, Elyza,” the gentle giant told her, “we’ll get you home.”</p><p>She could only nod, her jaws clenched in a vain attempt to hold her tears of pain into her eyes.</p><p>The journey back to the island was done in almost complete silence, apart from Indra and Elyza’s groans of pain. They had both been lucky, their injuries were deep but not major organ or vessel seemed to have been damaged. Still, it hurt like hell.</p><p>“Are you okay, Elyza? We are almost there,” Lincoln asked her, concern all over his face when he heard her sigh deeply.</p><p>“Yeah, I’m fine. I just realised that Alicia is gonna kill me for getting injured. I promised her I’d be careful. And the one time I go out without her, I come back with an arrow stuck in my leg.”</p><p>“Oh. Yeah, she might. Though hopefully, she’ll heal you first before she kills you,” the muscular man responded with a wink.</p><p>“Wait until your better half notices the shiner you’re sporting my friend, we’ll see how she reacts.”</p>
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<a name="section0025"><h2>25. Chapter 25</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Alicia was grooming her favorite horse, a five-year-old piebald mare, when Anya interrupted her, running from the beach like a madwoman.</p><p>“Alicia, follow me!” she shouted at the brunette. “They are back, but some are injured.”</p><p>The brush had not even touched the ground yet that the young woman was already sprinting towards the boat, towards the woman she loved. What the hell had happened to her people? And who was injured?</p><p>When she arrived at the center of their camp, she saw Elyza and Indra been carried into a large tent by some of the soldiers. The rest of the group wore some cuts and bruises, but nothing that required her immediate attention. After taking a deep inhalation to calm her nerves, she entered the tent that had just been converted into a field hospital.</p><p>“What happened?” the brunette asked, trying not to keep her emotions in control.</p><p>“We found some supplies, but a group of survivors in pretty bad shape attacked us on our way back,” Gustus explained. “We fought them until one of them stabbed Indra and Elyza shot him in the face. They fled after that, and we had to run to the boat to avoid the walkers.”</p><p>“And how did Elyza get hurt?” she continued, washing her hands with Jasper’s moonshine.</p><p>“Some fucker shot me while we were returning to the boat,” the blonde groaned, clearly in pain. “He missed the femoral artery, but it still hurts like hell, and I can’t remove it by myself. I’m gonna need your help, Love.”</p><p>Alicia had volunteered at the hospital near her house for two years before the epidemic started, so she knew she would not faint at the sight of blood. Most of her experience, however, had consisted of helping people in and out of bed, answering the phone, and socializing with patients, and she felt very lucky that her girlfriend — the trained medic — was still lucid enough to help.</p><p>They decided to start by removing the arrow from Elyza’s thigh before both of them could take care of Indra. The process turned out to be as simple yet daunting as Alicia had feared. Using a bolt cutter, she removed the fletching part before pushing the arrow shaft all the way through the thigh, trying not to shake at Elyza’s screams. The second part was not much easier. She had to stitch up both sides of the leg, without much in terms of painkillers. After the longest 30 minutes of her life, Alicia put down the suture kit and gently kissed her girlfriend.</p><p>Indra’s injury was riskier, as they had no way of knowing if the knife had nicked the axillary artery or not. They pulled it out very carefully, Elyza ready to cauterize the vessel if necessary, but the bleeding remained minimal. The doctor carefully applied the sutures, knowing that the woman would likely lose some mobility in her shoulder and arm, but she could not do much for the muscles and nerves.</p><p>Alicia had gone to get them some food when she heard Echo recount exactly what had happened to Bellamy, and she returned to the tent, furious.</p><p>“What is wrong with you, Elyza?” she shouted at her girlfriend lying back on her cot. “You started that brawl for a stupid backpack? You promised me you’d be careful, and you risked your life for a few cans of food?!”</p><p>The blonde exhaled slowly before raising her head, looking at her with an unusual shyness. “It’s not for the canned food. Could you pass me the bag, please?”</p><p>“Seriously, what could be so important that you’d risk your life for it?” the brunette inquired, opening the backpack, “Nothing is worth—” The next words remained stuck in her throat at the sight of the small rectangular box, and she took it out of the bag with a shaking hand.</p><p>“I’m sorry I put us in danger and got injured,” Elyza started, “but <em>you</em> are worth it. You are more important than anything else for me, and if you give me a chance, I’d like to spend the rest of our lives proving it to you. I know we haven’t known each other that long, but I love everything about you, I have from the very first day.”</p><p>“Please forgive me for not getting down on one knee,” she chuckled, pointing at her bandaged leg before taking the box from the brunette’s hands and opening it, “but, Alicia Clark, would you do me the honor—”</p><p>“YES!” Alicia all but shouted, throwing her arms around her lover’s neck and swallowing the rest of the question with her lips. “I love you so much, you big idiot. Please don’t ever scare me like this again,” she added with a sweet smile, their foreheads touching.</p><p>An hour later, the newly engaged couple was being congratulated by all their friends, the happy tears and the moonshine freely flowing. Even Madison had beamed at the news and hugged both women tightly, wishing them all the happiness they deserved. Raven and Octavia eventually sat next to them; conspiratorial smiles visible in the firelight.</p><p>“So,” the black-haired girl started, “how are we supposed to call you now? Mrs. and Mrs. Lex? Mrs. and Mrs. Clark?”</p><p>“Or Mrs. and Mrs. Clark-Lex maybe?” Octavia joined in.</p><p>“Meh,” Raven replied, “it doesn’t really roll off the tongue, you know. How about a mix? Like Lexark? Or Clex? Oh, I know! Clexa, that’s perfect.”</p><p>“We are not married yet,” Alicia replied with an eye roll, “and Clexa is a ridiculous name.”</p><p>“I don’t mind taking your name, if you want,” Elyza said, looking at her fiancée with a tender smile. “Because Clark-Lex or Lex-Clark is really a no-go.”</p><p>“Actually, I was thinking I could take yours,” the brunette responded, a blush creeping onto her neck and cheeks. “Since Nick can carry on the Clark family name, we could be the Lexes.”</p><p>“Mrs. Alicia Lex,” Elyza hummed, “I like the sound of that! You sure have put a lot of thought into it in the last hour,” she teasingly added, enjoying the way her fiancée’s cheeks reddened even more.</p><p>“I changed my mind, I don’t wanna marry you anymore,” the younger woman replied with a pout, earning herself a round of laughter from their friends.</p><p>Not really needing much more than some flowers and moonshine to celebrate, the couple decided to get married a few days later. The ceremony was simple, but it encompassed all the new community’s hopes. They gathered on the beach, dressed in the nicest clothes they had. Gustus offered to officiate, and there was not a dry eye when Alicia walked down between the two rows of friends, at her mother’s arm, before joining the excited blonde at the front. When they exchanged rings — the one that Elyza had brought back and the one that Madison had passed on to her daughter along with her blessing — Madi could not hold her sniffles anymore. They finished the ceremony with Elyza holding the now smiling girl in her arms while Alicia, not wanting Aden to feel excluded, kept an arm around his narrow shoulders.</p><p>It wasn’t a typical wedding, with white dresses, champagne, and obnoxious guests. It was much better because it was theirs. Amid the apocalypse and all the losses, two souls had found their way to each other, and despite the initial circumstances, they had recognized each other and refused to let go. And when Alicia danced with her wife that night, their children joining in every few songs — courtesy of Monty and Bellamy — she knew that she had found the one thing she had been searching for years. Her home.</p>
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<a name="section0026"><h2>26. Epilogue - 5 years later</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Here we go, the last chapter! I seriously considered ending it after the wedding in chapter 25, but I wanted to give them some kind of happy ending :)</p><p>Thank you for all the nice comments and kudos!</p><p>This was my first fic, I hope you enjoyed reading it. I have a few more planned, so don't hesitate to check them out.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When the sun rose over the Santa Rosa island that morning, its little community bustled with activity. They had many things to prepare for Tris and Artigas’s big day.</p><p>Over the years, more than one couple had tied the knot, and it was always a joyful occasion for the survivors, only surpassed by the births of new members of the group.</p><p>Not long after Alicia and Elyza’s wedding, Lincoln and Octavia had taken the plunge too, followed by a double ceremony for Monty-Harper and Jasper-Maya, and another one two years later for Nick and Luciana. Raven and Anya, still very much in love, had declared that they didn’t need a ceremony to prove to everyone that they belonged together, but they had officially adopted Ben and Sarah. The teenage boy could often be spotted following his blond-haired mother, while the younger girl loved to spend time with her mama in her new workshop, tinkering with old radios and solar panels. A few people had spotted Gustus and Indra kiss, but nobody was brave enough to broach the subject with them, and they just discussed it discreetly among themselves.</p><p>About a year after their wedding, Harper and Monty had welcomed a son, Jordan, and Harper was currently expecting their second child. Her huge belly was hard to miss when she walked around the farm, though Monty begged her more often than not to take it easy and to let him take care of the animals.</p><p>Jasper and Maya had agreed to stop after having twins, Christopher and Rick. The birth had been difficult, one of the babies had gotten stuck during the delivery, and Elyza had had to perform an emergency C-section. With the lack of antibiotics and painkillers, it had been an extremely dangerous and painful experience for the new mother, and they didn’t want to tempt fate again.</p><p>Nick and Luciana too had become parents the year before. Little Alexandria, who had recently taken her first steps, was an adorable toddler, with big green eyes like her auntie and dark hair like her mom.</p><p>Bellamy and Echo, still together, had considered starting their own family, but Maya’s experience had given them such a fright that they had put their plans on hold for the time being. They were, however, happy to babysit when their friends wanted a bit of couple time. Bellamy was spending his days teaching at the school they had built for the children, along with Titus and Alicia.</p><p>To nobody's surprise, the brunette had been elected the official leader of the Santa Rosa community, a role that she took with great seriousness. When she was not teaching her two kids and the other children, she could be found helping her wife patch up their friends and patrol the shore, or taking care of the horses.</p><p> </p><p>After the supply run that had almost cost Elyza and Indra their lives, the survivors had agreed not to return to the mainland anymore. The risk of encountering walkers or leading a group of hostiles back to their little paradise was too high. Life was not always easy, as they did not have the equipment and facilities that they had grown up with, but they made do. And considering the fact that they had not lost anyone in five years, convenience was a small price to pay. They were still hoping that someone, somewhere, would find a cure and that things would go back to normal, but in the meantime, they were together, and they were living, as they deserved.</p>
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